Turkey Lashes Out at NATO: Turkish Foreign Minister Compares Alliance Countries to Terrorists
The principle of territorial integrity of Syria remains fundamental. The Kremlin is closely watching the Turkish Army’s actions in the city of Afrin area in northern Syria. Moscow’s official position on the operation against the troops supported by Washington was presented today by Dmitry Peskov. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the US had taken a course towards the creation of alternative authorities on a large part of the Syrian territory. The Russian military is in constant contact with all parties and is ready to immediately provide humanitarian assistance. The discussion of the situation in the UN Security Council shows irritation among NATO partners.
Valentin Bogdanov reporting from the USA.
Ankara didn’t like the French idea to hold consultations in the Security Council. In fact, the talks about the Turkish "Olive Branch” operation caused the Turkish Foreign Minister to compare his NATO allies with terrorists. Russia, unlike Western countries, doesn’t have to show diplomatic balancing miracles in this matter. Our diplomats’ position on such issues is always unambiguous, which was again confirmed in the Kremlin.
Dmitry Peskov, presidential press secretary: "We're closely monitoring the progress of the operation. Russian representatives are in contact with both the Syrian leadership and the Turkish leadership, including on this issue. We continue to consider the principle of preserving the territorial integrity of Syria as fundamental".
So far, it's under attack. The Turkish military has already occupied 69 Syrian settlements. The three strategic heights, without which the advance in Afrin wouldn’t have been possible, are also under Ankara’s control. Temporary military bases are hastily being equipped in the occupied territories.
A new surge is a direct result of Washington's ill-considered policy. The Americans, who got carried away while playing in the post-war reconstruction of Syria, were going to send a 30,000-soldier contingent on the basis of the so-called Kurdish border guard forces to control part of this country. The Syrian-Turkish border security was, of course, a pretext, but the US first underestimated the concern of its own NATO ally, which had a potential source of instability under its nose, and then simply ignored it. Ankara had no choice.
Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia: "The US has taken a course of creating alternative authorities in a large part of the Syrian territory. Washington is carrying out open and non-publicized deliveries of modern weapons to Syria for transferring them to those troops that cooperate with it. They’re doing their best to prevent the Kurds they’re cooperating with from having a dialogue with Damascus. This is either a misunderstanding of the whole situation or an intended provocation".
In addition, it's bloody. Advancing forces also bear losses. Kurds reported having killed four Turkish soldiers and destroying at least one tank. There’s more tension because the Iraqi Kurds promise to provide armed support to their fellow tribesmen. Ankara isn’t going to stop either. The seven-thousand military grouping will be increased by at least one thousand more soldiers and officers. However, none of them will stay in Syria after the operation. In any case, that’s what Turkish authorities promise.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish President: "When it's over, we'll go back. We aren’t interested in staying there. We don’t need anyone’s approval. Turkey has no plan of occupying any country".
In the meantime, Turkish special forces entered the city with the support of tanks. The brightest illustration of the chaos arranged by the US are combat sorties from the NATO Incirlik Air Base. Simultaneously, Turkish aircraft are sent out from there to bomb Washington’s Kurdish allies in the west of Syria, and the American ones go to support the Kurds in its east.
Valentin Bogdanov and Ivan Utkin, Vesti News from New York.