NATO chief: Turkish operation in northeastern Syria risks regional escalation

NATO chief: Turkish operation in northeastern Syria risks regional escalation
October 14, 2019, 12:27 pm

Turkey's ongoing military operation has been widely condemned by NATO allies. (File photo AFP)

Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria risks further escalation in the region, said NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday.

Stoltenberg said that there is a “very unstable situation in Syria” with “human suffering,” adding that he expressed his “deep concerns” when in Istanbul.

Turkey is a member of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) military alliance led by Washington. Its ongoing military operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria has been widely condemned by fellow NATO members including France and Germany.

The SDF previously fought alongside the US against ISIS.

“We have to remember that we need to continue to stand together in our common fight against a common enemy, which is ISIS,” Stoltenberg said previously on a visit to Athens on Friday.

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