Russia: Moscow concerned over 'buffer zone' plan on Syrian-Turkish border - Bogdanov

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov expressed "deep concerns" over the proposed creation of a buffer zone on the Turkish-Syrian border during a speech at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Thursday.
"Understanding how profound the problem is, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced an initiative to create a wide anti-terrorist front with the involvement of the Syrian and Iraqi armies, Kurdish militia, the armed units of the Syrian patriotic opposition with the support of international and regional players and with the UN Security Council occupying a central role. As the development of events showed the significance and necessity of the creation of such an international coalition is growing," Bogdanov stated.
"Deep concerns are caused by the further aggravation of the Syrian crisis. Especially worrying are the attempts to realise an idea about a buffer zone on the Turkish-Syrian border and the establishment of new military alliances for the launch of ground operation in Syria," he added.
The Valdai Discussion Club brings together leading intellectual voices and political figures from around the world for high-level discussions and debates. The current conference is focused on the situation in the Middle East and involves 100 leading experts from Russia, Iran, Europe, US and the Arab world.