Turkey calls for ground war as Kremlin denies Syrian hospital strikes

Turkey said Tuesday it wanted a ground operation in neighbouring Syria with its international allies, as a UN envoy held talks in Damascus aimed at saving a troubled ceasefire plan. Tensions escalated over Russia’s air war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with Ankara branding it “vile, cruel and barbaric”. "There is not going to be a unilateral military operation from Turkey to Syria,“ the official said, but added: "Without a ground operation it is impossible to stop the fighting in Syria.”

Once again, we categorically reject and do not accept such statements, especially since every time, those who make such statements are unable to prove in any way their unsubstantiated accusations.

Dmitry Peskov

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has denied Russia is bombing hospitals in northern Syria, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling such reports “unsubstantiated accusations”. Peskov made the statement when asked whether Russian planes were responsible for airstrikes on a hospitals in Syria, including one supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The Kremlin spokesman added that Moscow prefers to rely on “first-hand sources” of information, which he said in this case would be the Syrian government. Strikes on hospitals in Idlib and Azaz killed almost 50 civilians including children, according to the United Nations.

Russia denies