UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The divided U.N. Security Council failed to agree on Turkey’s offensive in northeast Syria on Thursday, with Europeans demanding a halt to military action and Syrian ally Russia calling for “restraint” and “direct dialogue” between the two countries.
The five European council members who called the closed meeting would have liked its 15 members to agree on a statement on the Turkish offensive, launched after President Donald Trump suddenly withdrew U.S. forces from the volatile northeast.
The United States proposed a statement that expressed “deep concern,” called for protection of civilians, and asked Turkey to go through diplomatic channels rather than take military action, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private.
But Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters afterward that any Security Council statement needs to take into account other aspects of the Syrian crisis, not just the Turkish operation, and should demand the immediate termination of “the illegal military presence” in the country.
Kurgen
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