Russia Urges Turkey to Exercise Restraint in Context of Shelling of Syria Territories

"We call on our Turkish partners to exercise some restraint in order not to allow the tension to escalate—not only in the northern and northeastern regions of Syria, but throughout the entire territory," Lavrentiev said at the beginning of the 19th round of Syrian settlement negotiations in Astana.

According to him, the respective work with the interested parties should be continued in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the "Kurdish issue."

Lavrentiev noted that Turkey did not inform Russia in advance about its recent airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, and that the matter will be discussed during the meeting on Syria in Astana.

"We hope to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from using excessive force in the Syrian territory," said the special representative of the Russian President.

Lavrentiev emphasized that since the beginning of the year, and in the context of Ankara's announcements of a possible ground operation, Moscow has done everything possible to prevent Turkey's ground operation in Syria, and it was prevented.