UN Secretary General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire in northwest Syria in light of the latest escalation, according to a statement by spokesman for Secretary-General Stefan Dujarrik.
Earlier, Turkish border governor Hatai Rahmi Dogan said 33 Turkish military personnel died in Idlib, Syria, during an air strike by government forces.
“The Secretary-General is following with deep concern the escalation in northwest Syria and reports of dozens of Turkish soldiers killed in an air strike”, – it was reported.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and expresses particular concern about the risk to civilians posed by the escalation of hostilities”, – the statement said.
According to the General Secretary, in the absence of operational actions, the risk of further escalation increases with each passing hour.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Turkey was unable to fulfill several key obligations to solve the problems around Syrian Idlib. In particular, it has not separated the armed opposition, which is ready for a dialogue with the government as part of the political process, from terrorists. Thus, the Russian-Turkish memorandum of 18 September 2018, agreed at the end of the meeting between Presidents Putin and Erdogan, spoke of maintaining the status quo in the presence of the Turkish military, but subject to the withdrawal of all terrorist radical groups from the de-escalation zone of Idlib until 15 October 2018. It was also stipulated that “effective measures will be taken to ensure a sustainable cessation of hostilities” within the zone. Paragraph seven of the memorandum provided for joint Russian-Turkish patrols in the area.