NATO chief: Turkish operation in northeastern Syria risks regional escalation

Turkey's military operation in northeastern Syria risks further escalation in the region, said NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday.

Stoltenberg said that there is a “very unstable situation in Syria,” adding that he expressed his “deep concerns” when in Istanbul.

Stoltenberg said he had told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that Ankara's actions risked further destabilising and causing more human suffering in the Middle East.

Turkey is a member of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) military alliance led by Washington. Its ongoing military operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria has been widely condemned by fellow NATO members including France and Germany.

The SDF previously fought alongside the US against ISIS.

“We have to remember that we need to continue to stand together in our common fight against a common enemy, which is ISIS,” Stoltenberg said previously on a visit to Athens on Friday.