Russia Calls for Calm on Tense Turkish-Syria Border

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has urged restraint between Turkey and Syria, calling for calm on the tense Turkish-Syrian border.
“We believe both Syrian and Turkish authorities should exercise maximum restraint in this situation, taking into account the rising number of radicals among the Syrian opposition who can intentionally provoke conflicts on the border," said Gatilov on Tuesday.

Gatilov also warned NATO and world powers not to seek ways to intervene in the Syrian war or set up buffer zones between opposition and government forces.

“In our contacts with partners in NATO and in the region, we are calling on them not to seek pretexts for carrying out a military scenario or introducing initiatives such as humanitarian corridors or buffer zones," Gatilov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Turkey has floated the idea of setting up "safe zones" inside Syria to protect civilians.

Ankara has repeatedly complained of artillery and gunfire spilling over its border, and last week signaled it would take action if there were a repeat of a mortar strike on its territory from inside Syria.

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Key to solving the Syrian impasse: Russia

Turkey is preparing to host the second Friends of Syria meeting on April 1, following the first one in Tunisia, as the situation in its neighbor -- with which it shares an 877-kilometer-long border -- continues to be in complete “deadlock.” Just like the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people, Turkey has exhibited a strong will that Bashar al-Assad must leave the wheel of the country, but no significant option for how this can be done has emerged so far.

The fragmentation in the international community is bestowing extra life on the Assad regime, but also causing dozens of people to die every day. The death toll has already exceeded 8,000 according to United Nations statistics. The Syrian opposition, on the other hand, claims this number to be above 11,000. And the Assad regime says more than 2,000 security troops have died. In addition to deaths, there have also been increasing human rights violations and displacement of populations. Moreover, thousands of people are reported to have gone missing after they were arrested by Assad's troops. Currently, about 250,000 people have been displaced within the country while at least 30,000 people have sought shelter in neighboring countries.

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