Russia urged Turkey not to launch an offensive in northern Syria after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed threats of a military campaign targeting Kurdish “terrorists”.

“We hope that Ankara will refrain from actions that could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.

“Such a move, in the absence of the agreement of the legitimate government of the Syrian Arab Republic, would be a direct violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and would “cause a further escalation of tensions in Syria”, she added.

Erdogan on Wednesday again proposed a military offensive in northern Syria.

“We are taking another step in establishing a 30km security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifat and Manbij,” he said, referring to two northern Syrian cities.

Erdogan said they would then proceed “step by step into other regions”.

Also on Friday, the Turkiye newspaper reported that the operation in northern Syria to be carried out by the Turkish army will allow Ankara to take 600 kilometers of the border under control.

The Turkish armed forces will “clear” 470 villages and towns in Syria in the course of the operation, reaching a depth of 45 kilometers in some regions, the newspaper said, citing military and diplomatic sources.

Source: Agencies