Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Moscow Warns Turkey to Wrap Up Syria Incursion Quickly

Jamie Dettmer

   MOSCOW - Russians officials urged Turkey to limit the duration and
   scale of its cross-border military incursion into northeast Syria,
   stressing Turkish troops must at all costs avoid clashing with Syrian
   government forces, which have moved north and are racing to take over
   Kurdish border towns ahead of the Turks.

   The Kremlin's special envoy to Syria Tuesday appeared to toughen
   Russia's language about the offensive, dubbing it for the first time as
   "unacceptable." Previously the Kremlin appeared to endorse the
   incursion, with top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying
   Russia would go along with Turkey as it acknowledged Ankara had
   legitimate border security concerns.

   But Russian officials had from the start detailed red lines --
   including that the offensive wouldn't lead to any permanent Turkish
   occupation.

.