France’s foreign ministry has urged Turkey to end its assault on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. In a statement, it said it was worried about the continued worsening of the situation. On Saturday, Turkey began shelling the militia, which it says is linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party.
The fighters, the YPG militia based in Syria, have rejected Turkey’s demand to leave areas it has seized, saying Islamic State militants would return if it left. Turkey’s assault is a new thread in an already-complex conflict that has drawn in competing regional powers. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu insisted yesterday that Turkey will not permit the Kurdish militia to carry out aggressive acts. Syria has also condemned the Turkish action as a violation of its sovereignty and asked the UN Security Council to intervene.
France said, priority should be given to implementing an agreement reached in Munich this week on ceasing hostilities and the fight against Islamic State group.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said yesterday, the US and Russian Presidents have agreed in a phone call to work more closely to achieve this.