Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria has caught Russia between its desire to see US troops out of Syria and its commitment to Damascus to regain all the country’s territory. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Oct. 9 blamed the imminent Turkish offensive on US President Donald Trump.
Trump gave a green light to Turkey to invade by deciding to withdraw US forces but warned Turkey of heavy retribution if its military goes too far. Lavrov says US actions in Syria are “full of contradictions” and the US inability to stick by agreements “could ignite the entire region”.
