Kremlin fails in bid to rein in Turkey

Western powers have 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 warned 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.

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 ISIS.

A key Syria Opposition umbrella group on Saturday said it would agree a temporary truce proposed by world powers on several conditions, including that regime allies Russia and Iran halt fire.

Russia, which has been carrying out airstrikes in support of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s forces, has urged the UN 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 US rejecting it outright during a closed-door meeting on Friday, diplomats said.

In response, Russia on Saturday expressed regret that the UNSC rejected its bid to halt Turkey’s military actions against Syria and vowed to continue supporting government forces against “terrorists”. “We can only express regret that this draft resolution was rejected,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Western powers on Friday turned down a Russian draft resolution calling for an immediate end to cross-border shellings and plans — supported by Turkey — for foreign ground intervention in Syria.

“We can only express regret that this draft resolution was rejected,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. He said Moscow was “concerned at the growing tension at the Syrian-Turkish border. “Russia considers such cross-border shelling that Turkey is carrying out as unacceptable.”

President Vladimir Putin held a “detailed discussion of the situation in Syria particularly due to the escalation in tensions on the Syrian-Turkish border” on Friday with his security council, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Peskov stressed that Syrian government troops were coming under fire in the area being shelled by Turkey, as well as Kurdish fighters.