Washington. June 2. INTERFAX - The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told Ankara on Thursday that Washington opposes Turkish military operations in northern Syria, as they could further destabilize the situation in the region and undermine efforts to combat ISIS (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation).
"The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, spoke with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. (...) She spoke out against the renewed military operations in northern Syria, which could lead to additional displacement of the population, further destabilize the already unstable situation in the region, as well as undermine the efforts of the international coalition to combat ISIS," the press release issued by the US permanent mission to the UN says.
She stressed that the United States understands Turkey's legitimate security interests and calls for resolving issues of concern through dialogue and diplomacy.
In addition, Thomas-Greenfield expressed gratitude to Ankara for supporting Syrian refugees.
"The interlocutors agreed on the importance of improving the difficult humanitarian situation in Syria and stressed the need to continue cross-border assistance with the assistance of the UN," the document says.
The sides expressed hope that the upcoming meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will lead to progress in the settlement of the Syrian conflict.
The day before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new anti-terrorist operation in northern Syria.
Earlier, the US State Department said it was concerned about Ankara's plans to conduct a military operation aimed at creating a "security zone" 30 km deep on the border of Syria with Turkey.
