Russian diplomacy reiterated yesterday (Wednesday) that a new large-scale Turkish ground operation on Syrian territory would have a negative impact on the region and called for coordination between Ankara and Damascus, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Moscow is in «close cooperation with its Syrian and Turkish partners to prevent the aggravation of the situation in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic», the spokeswoman said, adding that a new Turkish ground military operation on Syrian territory «would lead to a further deterioration of the already difficult situation in this region of Syria and would have a negative impact on the situation in the region as a whole». It also considered that the purpose of «ensuring security in the border zone» is met by «restoring coordination between Ankara and Damascus».
Ms Zakharova recalled during the weekly briefing of Russian media journalists and foreign press correspondents that in order to «prevent» escalation, «contacts at the inter-ministerial level, including in the framework of the work of the Astana process‘ are underway during the 19th meeting of representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey in the capital of Kazakhstan (22-23 November).
The communiqué of the trilateral meeting stated that «achieving lasting security and stability in northeastern Syria is possible only on the basis of preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country», the spokesperson recalled.
Efforts are being made, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman continued, to encourage dialogue between the Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government so that «the areas beyond the Euphrates can be returned to the common space of the Syrian state».
«Maria Zakharova described »the US military presence« as a »major obstacle« to this process, arguing that »the Americans support the separatist tendencies of some Syrian Kurdish leaders, openly implementing the line of cutting off from Damascus these territories temporarily not controlled by the Syrian government, which are rich in oil and other natural resources".
«We have said it repeatedly. In our contacts with Kurdish representatives we consistently follow the thinking that it is counterproductive and not proactive to bet on an alliance with Washington instead of forming a normal partnership with the Syrian central government. We will continue the work,» the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman concluded.
