While Ankara and Moscow continued to exchange harsh remarks on Tuesday, Turkey once again hit Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets near the town of Azaz in Syria and called on its allies, including the US, to launch a ground offensive in Syria as Russian-backed Syrian regime forces come closer to Turkey’s borders.

A Turkish official speaking to reporters in İstanbul on Tuesday said Turkey wants a ground operation in Syria.

The official who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak more freely said: “We want a ground operation. If there is a consensus, Turkey will take part. Without a ground operation it is impossible to stop this war.”

The official also ruled out a unilateral ground operation in Syria carried out by Turkey. “Turkey is not going to have a unilateral ground operation … We are discussing this with allies,” the official said.

The Turkish military has been hitting PYD targets in Syria since Saturday and continued to shell the PYD militants in Azaz near the Mennagh air base on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned Turkey and Saudi Arabia that any ground incursion in Syria will have “global repercussions” and says sending in troops will be “no picnic.”

Commenting on the agreement reached last week among the US, Russia and other world powers for a temporary cessation of hostilities in Syria, Assad said, “Cease-fires occur between armies and states, but never between a state and terrorists.”

“They say they want a cease-fire within a week. All right, who will talk to a terrorist organization if it refuses to cease fire? Who will punish it?’” he asked. Assad spoke in Damascus late Monday during a meeting with members of the Bar Association. The comments were his first since the agreement on Friday to bring about a temporary pause in fighting within a week.

Washington has ruled out a major ground operation in Syria and a large-scale joint ground operation is still unlikely. But Turkey’s request shows how swiftly a Russian-backed advance in recent weeks has transformed a conflict that has drawn in most regional and global powers.

The offensive, supported by Iranian-backed Shiite militias as well as Russian air strikes, has brought the Syrian army to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of Turkey’s frontier. Kurdish fighters regarded by Turkey as hostile insurgents have also exploited the collapse of positions held by other rebel groups to seize ground and extend their presence along the border.

The advances have increased the risk of a military confrontation between Russia and Turkey.

Turkish artillery returned fire into Syria for a fourth day straight on Tuesday, military sources said, targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Ankara says is being backed by Moscow.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke with his French counterpart and expressed Ankara’s dissatisfaction with the French foreign ministry’s comments regarding the Turkish operations against Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) targets in Syria, diplomatic sources said.

Davutoğlu: Shameless Russia

Speaking at the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu gave harsh remarks targeting Russia particularly and calling Moscow “inhumane,” “merciless” and “barbaric.”

Davutoğlu said the PYD and its armed wing, the YPG, are an offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and are killing people in Syria for the Russian and Syrian regimes. He stressed that Turkey will do anything to prevent the attack on Azaz and will retaliate whenever necessary.

Calling the developments in Syria “a national security threat” to Turkey, Davutoğlu said Russia is attacking Syrian rebel groups and civilians. Mentioning some of the photos that he has seen where Russian jets pounded Tel Rifaat and Azaz, Davutoğlu asked Russia what they want from this territory.

Davutoğlu said Russian jets are bombing any area around Azaz, adding that making 200 sorties around a small town like Azaz does not make sense other than if the aim was to get rid of all expired bombs in one’s stock.

“Russia is killing both civilians and Syrian rebels, as well as supporting the Syrian regime. They are also getting rid of obsolete bombs in their stock in Syria instead of destroying them in their own country. They have such a vile and inhuman plan. Russia, Assad and the PYD are cooperating and pounding the area to cut the way to the aid corridor to the Syrian people. Russia and Assad are using the PYD as a tool to change the ethnic structure. Russia has not once attacked ISIL [the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant],” said Davutoğlu.

Davutoğlu also stressed that Turkey has been shelling the PYD since Saturday and will continue to do so in order to stop a new refugee influx to Turkey. He said the latest attacks near Turkey’s border are clearly targeting Turkey and posing a threat to Europe due to an increased refugee influx.

Davutoğlu pointed out that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally confirmed the need to establish a no fly zone in Syria. He said if the world leaders agreed with Turkey three years ago, many lives in Syria could have been saved.

“No one should doubt that Turkey will react in the same way against anyone threatening its border security,” said Davutoğlu.
He said the PYD does not represent the Kurds in Syria and has become a legionnaire for Russia in the region with the priority of harming Turkey, especially since Turkish-Russian relations have become tense following Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian jet in November last year.

“While Russia is bombing civilians, it complains about Turkey to the UN Security Council for defending Turkish air space. It is shameless,” said Davutoğlu. He also criticized the West, particularly the US, for not openly condemning the Russian bombardment in the area. “We are not afraid to say this. Coward Russian jets committed to this bombardment. We want to see a clear attitude [from the West] against this inhuman massacre,” said Davutoğlu.

He stressed that Turkish foreign policy is not based on ethnicity. He said if Kurds have a state, it is the Turkish Republic. He recalled that Turkey has embraced the Kurdish refugees who fled from ISIL in the town of Kobani in Syria.

Davutoğlu also said that Russia is pursuing a “dirty foreign policy” by mentioning the possibility of a World War III. “If there is a threat of war in Syria, Turkey is not the one creating the environment for it,” said Davutoğlu, adding that despite the chaos in the region the Turkish government is keeping the country out of war. He claimed that Turkey is taking measures to eliminate the threats close to it in order to stay away from war.

Russia categorically rejects statements from Turkey

Moscow on Tuesday strongly rejected Turkish accusations that it had committed a war crime after the missile strikes.

“We categorically do not accept such statements, the more so as every time those making these statements are unable to prove their unfounded accusations in any way,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Our relations (with Turkey) are in a deep crisis. Russia regrets this. We are not the initiators of this.”
Turkey on Monday accused Russia of an “obvious war crime” after missile attacks in northern Syria killed scores of people and warned the YPG that it would face the “harshest reaction” if it tried to capture a town near the Turkish border.