Russia striking moderates in Syria, says Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused Russia on Wednesday of carrying out airstrikes on moderate opposition forces in Syria.

“These air operations are not being carried out against Daesh,” Davutoglu said after visiting his party’s HQ in Istanbul.

“According to the military information we received, Russia has carried out 57 air operations: 55 against [the] moderate opposition and just two against Daesh.”

Russia began air operations in Syria on Sept. 30 after receiving parliamentary approval. The Kremlin claimed the airstrikes, which followed a military build-up in Syria, aimed at supporting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing Russian ally, against Daesh.

However, Turkey and the West have accused Russia of targeting moderate fighters opposed to Assad, many of which are supported by Turkey and the U.S.

Davutoglu said that if an anti-Daesh fight is going to be carried out, “let’s do it all together”.

He said that Turkey “is ready to work and speak with Russia, Iran and every other country on a political solution”, but added that Ankara had a principled stance on Turkey’s airspace and border security, Syrian people’s requests and the prevention of possible future refugee crises.

“We will not compromise in any way on of our border security and our airspace security,” Davutoglu said, calling on Russia to respect Turkey’s sensitivity regarding border and airspace violations.

The comments follow worldwide criticism toward Moscow, after Russian airplanes violated Turkish airspace in recent days.

He said that Turkish and Russian diplomatic and military authorities are discussing conditions in which border violations happened and how long they lasted.

“We do not want any tension with Russia, but as I said, awaiting Russia to pay attention to Turkey’s airspace, borders and Turkey’s interests in Syria is our most natural neighborhood right,” the Turkish PM said.

Davutoglu added that the Syrian crisis begun as a “country crisis” with the administration acting cruelly against its people, but was turned into a “regional crisis” with the inclusion of terror organizations and the threat they pose.

The prime minister also blamed the UN Security Council, which could not agree at any point at the time, for being as guilty as the Syrian “tyrant regime” in “the transformation of a country’s crisis into a regional crisis”.