Syrian opposition criticizes Russian air incursions

GENEVA

The main Syrian opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, on Wednesday criticized Russia’s violation of Turkish airspace.

“Russia has been violating every international law,” spokesman Salim Muslet said. “They should stop that. We care about the security of our people in Syria and we also care about our Turkish brothers.

“Turkey has the right to do anything there. What they did to Russian jet before was the right and exact action.”

Last Friday, a Russian SU-34 fighter-bomber crossed into Turkish airspace despite repeated warnings in Russian and English.

The incident followed the Nov. 24 shooting down of a Russian SU-24 aircraft on the Turkey-Syria border that led to a collapse of relations between Ankara and Moscow.

Commenting on British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond’s comments on Monday, in which he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining efforts to end the Syrian civil war by bombing opposition groups, Muslet added: “They are killing our people. Yes, Russia is blocking [the] Syria peace talks.”

All parties in the conflict are currently meeting in Geneva in a UN-brokered bid to end the five-year war, which has caused more than 250,000 deaths and displaced more than 11 million people.

GENEVA

The main Syrian opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, on Wednesday criticized Russia’s violation of Turkish airspace.

“Turkey has the right to do anything there. What they did to Russian jet before was the right and exact action.”

Last Friday, a Russian SU-34 fighter-bomber crossed into Turkish airspace despite repeated warnings in Russian and English.

The incident followed the Nov. 24 shooting down of a Russian SU-24 aircraft on the Turkey-Syria border that led to a collapse of relations between Ankara and Moscow.

All parties in the conflict are currently meeting in Geneva in a UN-brokered bid to end the five-year war, which has caused more than 250,000 deaths and displaced more than 11 million people.