NUR-SULTAN: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday warned ofthe risks of Washington sending mixed signals on an American withdrawalfrom northern Syria.
Turkey is preparing for an offensive into northern Syria after US PresidentDonald Trump announced on Sunday he was pulling back US troops who hadserved as a buffer preventing the long-planned attack on Kurdish forces.
Trump has blown hot and cold since his surprise announcement, alsoinsisting the United States had not abandoned its Kurdish allies by pullingout of the area.
“(US actions in Syria) are full of contradictions and reflect our Americancolleagues’ inability to reach agreements,” Lavrov said on a visit toKazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan.
“Americans have violated their promises many times.”
He also accused the United States of violating Syria’s territorialintegrity and seeking to create “quasi-states” in northern Syria to thedispleasure of Arab tribes living on those territories.
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“This is a very dangerous game,” Lavrov said.
Russia’s top diplomat, who visited Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdish capitalErbil earlier this week, said he discussed the topic with the Kurdishleaders in Iraq.
“They are extremely alarmed that such a lightweight treatment of thisextremely delicate subject could ignite the entire region,” Lavrov said.
“This must be avoided at all costs”. -APP/AFP
