Russia: Turkey’s airstrikes in Syria, Iraq provoke serious concern
Russia has dubbed Turkey’s air raids in Syria and Iraq as “unacceptable” and in violation of the basic intergovernmental principles.
“Such steps provoke most serious concern in Moscow," said a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
"In this situation, we call on all parties to exercise restraint…These are actions by the Turkish military against Kurdish forces that truly oppose terrorist groups on the ground, first and foremost Daesh," it added.
Turkey claims 70 suspected Kurdish militants were killed in the attacks on what it has described as "terrorist havens" in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It also claims that it informed Russia and the US of its intentions.
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Syria’s Foreign Ministry has also condemned the attacks, stressing that they amounted to blatant aggression against Syria, and violated international law and the principle of good neighborly ties.
It also called on the international community and the United Nations to condemn Turkey’s actions.
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) claims that some 20 of its members were killed in the attacks and some 18 more were wounded.
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- Baghdad censures Turkey air raid in northern Iraq
- Kurds denounce deadly Turkish air raid in northern Iraq
- Iran condemns Turkish air raid in Iraq’s Sinjar
The airstrikes in Sinjar area, which were purportedly aimed at positions held by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-supported Yazidi Protection Units (YBS), claimed the lives of five Peshmerga forces and a police officer instead, drawing condemnations from the authorities of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also lambasted the airstrikes as unacceptable.
In early December 2015, Turkey deployed a contingent of its troops to the Bashiqa military camp north of Mosul, claiming that the move had been earlier coordinated with Iraqi officials.
In August 2016, Turkey also began a major military intervention in Syria, sending tanks and warplanes across the border, claiming that its military campaign was aimed at pushing Daesh from Turkey's border with Syria and stopping the advance of Kurdish forces. Damascus has denounced the operation as a breach of its sovereignty.
In late March, Ankara announced the end of its military operations in Syria but did not rule out the possibility of yet another military intervention in war-torn Syria.
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