Russia Calls On Turkey To Show Restraint In Fight Against Syria

Russia on Tuesday said it hoped Turkey would exercise "restraint" and refrain from “any excessive use of force” in Syria, where Turkey has carried out air strikes and is threatening to launch a ground offensive against Kurdish fighters.

“We hope to convince our Turkish colleagues to refrain from resorting to excessive use of force on Syrian territory” to “avoid the escalation of tensions,” Alexander Lavrentyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy on Syria said.

“Russia has for months done everything possible to prevent any large-scale ground operation,” Lavrentyev said.

Turkey on Sunday launched a series of air raids targeting bases of outlawed Kurdish militants across northern Syria and Iraq.

At least 37 people were killed in the strikes, according to a report by the Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to launch a new military operation in northern Syria since May.

“We will make those who disturb us on our territory pay,” he said on Monday, adding that consultations were ongoing “to decide the level of force that should be used by our ground forces.”