A Russian envoy for Syria says that Moscow will not allow the Assad regime and Turkish-led forces to clash, underscoring his country's role as de facto power broker in the conflict amid a U.S. pullout.
Alexander Lavrentyev, presidential envoy for Syria, told Russian state news agencies on Tuesday that "no one is interested" in potential fighting between the Assad regime troops and Turkish-led forces that entered Syria last week. Lavrentyev said Russia "is not going to allow it."
Lavrentyev also denied reports saying that Moscow has given the green light to Turkey's operation in Syria and insisted that Russia "has always thought that any military operation in Syria is unacceptable."
Lavrentyev confirmed that the YPG leaders and representatives of the Assad regime held talks at a Russian military base last week but said that he was not aware of any results.
