UNSC rejects Russia’s bid to rein in Turkey
France sees escalation of Syrian conflict
new york — Western powers on Friday rejected a Russian bid at the United Nations to halt Turkey’s military actions in Syria, as France warned of a dangerous escalation in the nearly five-year conflict.
The emergency Security Council meeting came as US Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned there was “a lot more work to do” for a ceasefire to take hold in Syria, following talks in Geneva between American and Russian officials.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, in a phone call with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urged the Ankara government and Kurdish YPG forces to “show reciprocal restraint” in northern Syria.
The elusive truce was meant to begin on Friday, but failed to materialise as fighting raged in Syria with Kurdish-led forces backed by US-led air power seizing a key town from the Daesh group.
Russia, which has been carrying out air strikes in support of Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad’s forces, has urged the United Nations to press Turkey to halt its shelling of Kurdish forces in the country’s north.
Moscow presented a draft resolution that “strongly demands” an immediate end to cross-border shellings and plans — supported by Turkey — for foreign ground intervention in Syria. But the text failed to garner support from key council members with at least six countries including veto-wielding France and the United States rejecting it outright during a closeddoor meeting, diplomats said.
United States Ambassador Samantha Power accused Moscow of trying to “distract the world” from its air campaign in support of the Syrian regime and urged it to abide by United Nations resolutions supporting a peace process. “Russia must understand that its unconditional support to Bashar Al Assad is a dead-end and a dead-end that could be extremely dangerous,” French Ambassador Francois Delattre said.—