Turkey has no plan for military incursion in Syria: Official

A Turkish official denies secret preparations for a military intervention in Syria, saying Ankara has no plan for such an “incursion” in the Arab state.

“Turkey does not have any plans or thoughts of staging a military campaign or ground incursion in Syria,” a senior Turkish government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Friday.

The official, instead, accused Moscow of increasing its military campaign in Syria.

“Turkey is part of a coalition, is working with its allies, and will continue to do so. As we have repeatedly said, Turkey will not act unilaterally,” the official added.

The remarks came after Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Moscow registered “a growing number of signs of hidden preparation of the Turkish Armed Forces for active actions on the territory of Syria.”

“We are recording more and more signs of concealed preparations by the Turkish military,” he added.

Moscow and Ankara have been at loggerheads over developments in Syria since a foreign-backed militancy erupted in the Arab country nearly five years ago.

SS