MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Ankara launched its “Euphrates Shield” mission in the early hours, with Free Syrian Army fighters reaching the town of Jarablus on western bank of the Euphrates by mid-Wednesday. The operation’s stated aim is to clear the cross-border town of Daesh jihadists. Syrian Kurds and Damascus, however, accuse Turkey of breaching Syrian sovereignty.
“Moscow is deeply concerned about what is happening in the Syrian-Turkish border area,” the ministry said, adding that further degradation in the conflict zone and the prospect of Kurdish-Arab ethnic conflict raises alarm.
“We are convinced that the Syrian crisis can be resolved only on the solid basis of international law, through broad intra-Syrian dialogue with the participation of all ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, and on the basis of the June 30, 2012, Geneva Communique, Resolution 2254 and other UN Security Council resolutions adopted on the initiative of the International Syria Support Group,” the ministry stressed.