MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Moscow views Ankara’s plans to carry out a ground operation in Syria as a premature step, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth European Department Yury Pilipson said in an interview with TASS.
"The two countries’ General Staffs and intelligence agencies maintain close contact on Turkey’s plans to carry out a military operation in the Syrian Arab Republic. We understand that issues related to the protection of Turkey’s southern border are sensitive for our partners but we proceed from the need to strictly comply with the principles of the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Syrian state," the diplomat noted.
"On the whole, we view such an operation as a premature step because it may lead to a further rise in tensions, boosting separatist sentiment and fueling armed confrontation," Pilipson added.
He pointed out that the relevant ministries of Russia and Turkey maintained close contact on Syria. "It is well known that the Astana platform, the only effective one in terms of resolving the Syrian crisis, was launched through the efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran," Pilipson emphasized.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier announced that Turkey planned to carry out an operation in Syria to create a 30-km security zone along the border. Turkish media said that the new ground operation would give Ankara control over the 600-km stretch on the border with Syria and reduce terrorist threats originating from the area. Turkey believes that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as terrorist by Ankara, and the party’s Syrian branch, the People's Defense Units, pose the main threat to its national security. According to military sources, the operation may involve about 50,000 Turkish servicemen and members of the Ankara-backed Syrian armed opposition.