Russia says Turkey’s possible military operation in Syria could escalate and destabilize the situation Russia considers Turkey’s possible military operation in Syria unwise as it could escalate and destabilize the situation, the RIA news agency cited Russia’s Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentyev as saying on Wednesday. Lavrentyev also said Moscow no longer considered Geneva a suitable venue for talks between Syrians, according to the TASS agency. The Russian envoy was in Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan on Wednesday for talks with Turkey, Iran, and the Syrian government and opposition forces. Ankara says it must act in Syria because Washington and Moscow broke promises to push the predominantly Kurdish group YPG 30 km (18 miles) from the border after a 2019 Turkish offensive, and says attacks from YPG-controlled areas have increased.