07:45Russia: Lavrov says Syria ‘has full right to fight terrorists’ after 33 Turkish troops killed in airstrike
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Luxembourgish counterpart Jean Asselborn discussed the situation in Syria's Idlib amid escalating tensions in the region, at a joint press conference in Moscow on Friday.
Speaking about the events that led to the Syrian airstrike which killed 33 Turkish servicemen in Idlib on Thursday evening, Lavrov said that coordinates handed over by the Turkish forces to the Russian military "did not contain a reference to the places where the Turkish military, who ended up in the ranks of terrorist groups, died."
"As soon as it became known that this happened, and our Ministry of Defence clarified this situation, we asked our Syrian colleagues to take a break in the hostilities and did everything to ensure the safe evacuation of the wounded and the delivery of the bodies of the dead Turkish troops to Turkey," added Lavrov.
The Russian diplomat reiterated that Moscow remained committed to agreements between Turkey and Russia on the Idlib de-escalation zone, but noted that "the Syrian army of course has full right to fight terrorists, we cannot ban Syrian army from complying with the requirements of the UN Security Council resolution on the merciless, uncompromising fight against terrorism in all its manifestations."
Lavrov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had talked by phone after the Syrian airstrike and discussed the implementation of agreements in Idlib.
Luxembourg's Asselborn on his part reacted to Turkey's statement that it will no longer restrict the flow of refugees from Idlib, stating it was not surprising to the European Union given the situation in the region.
07:45Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Luxembourgish counterpart Jean Asselborn discussed the situation in Syria's Idlib amid escalating tensions in the region, at a joint press conference in Moscow on Friday.
Speaking about the events that led to the Syrian airstrike which killed 33 Turkish servicemen in Idlib on Thursday evening, Lavrov said that coordinates handed over by the Turkish forces to the Russian military "did not contain a reference to the places where the Turkish military, who ended up in the ranks of terrorist groups, died."
"As soon as it became known that this happened, and our Ministry of Defence clarified this situation, we asked our Syrian colleagues to take a break in the hostilities and did everything to ensure the safe evacuation of the wounded and the delivery of the bodies of the dead Turkish troops to Turkey," added Lavrov.
The Russian diplomat reiterated that Moscow remained committed to agreements between Turkey and Russia on the Idlib de-escalation zone, but noted that "the Syrian army of course has full right to fight terrorists, we cannot ban Syrian army from complying with the requirements of the UN Security Council resolution on the merciless, uncompromising fight against terrorism in all its manifestations."
Lavrov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had talked by phone after the Syrian airstrike and discussed the implementation of agreements in Idlib.
Luxembourg's Asselborn on his part reacted to Turkey's statement that it will no longer restrict the flow of refugees from Idlib, stating it was not surprising to the European Union given the situation in the region.