Russian Official: Turkiye Shows Restraint

Moscow –

Russian officials on Tuesday called on Turkiye to “show a certain amount of restraint” to prevent further escalation in Syria, where tensions rose over the weekend after Turkish airstrikes killed and wounded dozens of Syrian soldiers.

Russia’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, expressed hope that “it will be possible to persuade Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory.”

“Of course, we call on our Turkish colleagues to show a certain degree of restraint in order to prevent an escalation of tensions, not only in the north, but throughout Syria,” Lavrentiev quoted him. As Russian state news agency told in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana ahead of talks on Syria.

Turkiye carried out air strikes against suspected Kurdish militants in northern Syria and Iraq over the weekend. This is in retaliation for the deadly bombing of Istanbul on November 13, which Ankara blamed on militant groups. Airstrikes have also hit several Syrian army positions in three provinces along the border with Turkiye, killing and wounding many Syrian soldiers, Syrian officials said.

At least two people were killed and 10 wounded when Syrian Kurdish militants fired rockets across the border into Turkiye on Monday, Turkish officials said, following airstrikes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow views security concerns in Turkiye “with understanding and respect”, but that “in general there is a serious destabilization of the situation. He urged the Turkish government to refrain from taking measures that could lead to

“It could come back as a boomerang and further complicate the security situation,” Peskov said.