Russia says it won’t allow clashes between Turkey and Syria

A Russian envoy for Syria says that Moscow will not allow Turkish and Syrian government forces to clash, underscoring his country’s role as de facto power broker in the conflict amid a US pullout.

Alexander Lavrentyev, presidential envoy for Syria, tells Russian state news agencies that “no one is interested” in potential fighting between Syrian government troops and Turkish forces that entered Syria last week. Lavrentyev said Russia “is not going to allow it.”

Lavrentyev also denies reports saying that Moscow has given the green light to Turkey’s operation in Syria and insisted that Russia “has always thought that any military operation in Syria is unacceptable.”

Lavrentyev confirms that Kurdish leaders and representatives of the Syrian government held talks at a Russian military base last week but said that he was not aware of any results.

— AP