Turkey implements ‘creeping expansion’. Syrian Kurds should be involved in negotiations- Lavrov

Russia has evidence that there are Turkish tanks and techniques on the border with Syria, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with REN TV qualifying Turkish actions as “creeping expansion”.

“The Turks have stated that they will not allow the Kurds to get established in northern Syria, although they fight against the IS with us and the US.

They have announced that the union of those two is unacceptable, even in case of the elimination of the IS, it is important for them not to let the Kurds get unified in the Syrian territory.

Therefore, we believe that the process beginning in Geneva must involve the Kurds, if we all consider what we are talking about when we declare our commitment to the territorial integrity of Syria”, Lavrov stressed.

According to him, if the Kurds are left out from the negotiations on the future of Syria, then will simply “wave their hands ” on the international community and all these schemes.

“That is why we are taking the same stance as the other countries, except Turkey, will argue with the UN to invite the Kurds to the negotiation table from the beginning.

To prevent any strengthening of the Kurdish parties in Syria, Turkey has announced its sovereign right to create a security zone in the Syrian territory.

According to our information, they have started to strengthen their positions a few hundred meters away from the Syrian border “, he said