In Attacking Syrian Kurds, Turkey Risks Tensions With US and Russian Federation

An ally of Ankara within North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the anti-terror coalition, it also supports Kurdish militia groups fighting ISIS in Syria. The administration, he said, “didn’t respond decisively” when Russian Federation annexed the Crimea from Ukraine, or when government forces used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.

Turkey has long backed Assad’s ouster and like other Western nations accuses Russian Federation of predominantly bombing Syrian rebel groups backed by Washington and its allies instead of the Islamic State group.

“The so-called hospital was installed without any prior consultation with the Syrian government by the so-called French network called MSF which is a branch of the French intelligence operating in Syria”, said Ambassador Bashar Jaafari. “We are not violating (the resolutions), as we are in Syria on legitimate grounds, we are fighting terrorism helping the Syrian army, helping the Kurdish militia as well as the patriotically minded Syrian opposition”, the diplomat said.

The advances have increased the risk of a military confrontation between Russian Federation and Turkey. “Russian Federation regrets this. We are not the initiators of this”.

A Turkish official says his country is pushing the case for ground operations in Syria, hoping for involvement of the USA and other allies in an global coalition against Daesh, the AP reported.

SDF official Ahmad al-Omar said dignitaries from northern Syria are mediating a deal to open a corridor for militants to leave Marea for the northern town of Azaz near the border. Saudi Arabia has said it also is ready to send ground troops to Syria to fight IS and is sending warplanes to an air base in Turkey near the border.

De Mistura told reporters after the meeting that they discussed how to resume suspended peace talks in Geneva and talked about deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Turkish artillery fire from the border near Kilis town toward northern Syria, in Kilis, Turkey, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016.

World powers meeting in Munich last week agreed to a pause in the fighting.

“Turkey shells settlements across the border, transfers money, people and supplies there”.

Russia’s aerospace forces launched pinpoint strikes against the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra targets in Syria on September 30 after the Federation Council upper parliament house unanimously approved President Vladimir Putin’s request for the use of the armed forces against terrorists in Syria.

Turkey warned the YPG it would face the “harshest reaction” if it tried to capture a town near the Turkish border.

With hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in areas the government aims to seize, Turkey and others accuse Moscow of deliberately firing on civilian targets such as hospitals to force residents to flee and depopulate territory.

Nearly 50 civilians were killed when missiles hit at least five medical facilities and two schools in rebel-held areas on Monday, according to the United Nations, which called the attacks a blatant violation of global law. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said a Russian missile was responsible and vowed that Turkey would not let Azaz fall into YPG hands.

Asked about the risk of an escalation with Turkey Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “he would rather not answer”, adding that “our relations are in a deep crisis”. Turkey considers the PYD to be one and the same as the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, a Turkish separatist group that it and the United States have designated as a terrorist organization.

Ankara fears the YPG, which is an ally of the United States in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group, is close to securing the last stretch of the Syrian border with Turkey not already under its control.