Lavrov says Turkish operation in Afrin provoked by US actions in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the US move as "completely unprofessional"
Sputnik
Thursday, 15 March 2018 18:51

Turkey's ongoing military operation in Syria's northern Afrin region was provoked by the policy of the United States in Syria, including its support for Kurdish forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

"As for the operation [in Afrin], it was clearly provoked by the US actions in Syria's east, east of the Euphrates, where the United States not simply wagered on Kurdish forces in the fight against terrorists ... but also announced that they, the United States and the Kurds, are taking control of the entire border between Syria and Iraq," Lavrov said at a forum in Moscow.

The diplomat described the US move as "completely unprofessional."

"If those in Washington who made this announcement thought Turkey would simply sit and look at what is happening, they know nothing about the balance of power in the Middle East and Syria in particular," Lavrov stressed.

On January 20, Ankara, jointly with the opposition Free Syrian Army forces, launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin to "clear" Turkey's border with Syria from the terrorist threat. Ankara considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish political party in northern Syria, and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey.

Damascus has condemned the operation as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.