叙利亚警告称，它可能很快会对土耳其进行报复，因为这个北方邻国领导叛乱分子越境入侵，导致美国和俄罗斯急于组织会谈。
叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德的政治和媒体顾问布特海娜·沙班星期三对俄罗斯国营电视台说，最近的事态发展并不构成“土耳其的军事行动，而是对阿拉伯叙利亚共和国主权的入侵和侵略”这次军事行动的目标是库尔德民兵组织，他们一度得到五角大楼的支持，但在美国撤军后，现在与叙利亚政府及其俄罗斯盟友结盟。
当被问及叙利亚和土耳其军队之间发生冲突的可能性时，沙班说“一切皆有可能”，土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安领导的大部分军队都隶属于前基地组织成员胜利阵线(Jabhat al-Nusra)和伊斯兰国激进组织(ISIS)。
她说，叙利亚支持唐纳德·特朗普总统撤出不请自来的美国军队的决定，但不希望看到他们被土耳其占领者取代。沙班还表示，莫斯科和安卡拉正计划举行会议，讨论俄罗斯黑海城市索契的局势。
10月16日，叙利亚政府军在叙利亚北部拉卡地区的塔卡空军基地升起国旗。这座城市曾经是伊斯兰国自封的哈里发的实际首都，但后来被美国支持的库尔德人领导的部队占领，这些部队随后站在叙利亚政府一边，反对土耳其领导的叙利亚叛军的进攻。
俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔普京(Vladimir Putin)周二邀请埃尔多安“在未来几天对俄罗斯进行工作访问”，这位土耳其领导人接受了这一邀请，克里姆林宫透露了他们的呼吁。俄罗斯和伊朗一道，支持叙利亚政府反对由土耳其支持、此前由美国和其他地区及西方国家支持的长达八年的反叛和圣战起义。
莫斯科、德黑兰和安卡拉成功地组成了一个三方和平进程，以结束叙利亚战争。然而，最近土耳其领导的对库尔德武装的袭击在五角大楼的协助下打击了伊斯兰国，但被土耳其视为恐怖组织，这在三人之间造成了新的裂痕。
在与埃尔多安的谈话中，普京“注意到叙利亚-土耳其边境人道主义局势的恶化”，并警告称，关押在库尔德人占多数的领土上的伊斯兰国囚犯“绝不能利用这一局势”
俄罗斯外长谢尔盖拉夫罗夫(Sergey Lavrov)周三在索契举行的新闻发布会上表示，具体日期尚未宣布，但议题将包括“叙利亚局势，在与恐怖主义团伙残余势力的不妥协斗争中确保其主权和领土完整的任务。”
普京的叙利亚特使亚历山大·拉夫罗夫周二表示，俄罗斯”不允许“土耳其和叙利亚军队之间的直接冲突。他称这样的冲突“不可接受”。"
10月14日，土耳其军队与装甲运兵车并肩走过叙利亚北部城市曼比杰北部的图哈尔镇，土耳其及其盟友继续袭击叙利亚东北部库尔德人领导的部队控制的边境城镇。土耳其希望沿其边境建立一个大约20英里的缓冲区，以遏制库尔德人领导的军队，并遣返其收容的360万叙利亚难民中的一些人。
也是在周二，副总统迈克·彭斯宣布，他、国务卿麦克·庞贝、国家安全顾问罗伯特·奥布赖恩和叙利亚问题特别代表詹姆斯·杰弗里将率领一个代表团前往土耳其，“呼吁土耳其停止入侵，立即停火，并开始谈判，以恢复该地区的和平与稳定。”预计他们将就叙利亚北部的局势会见埃尔多安。
特朗普最初表示支持土耳其入侵叙利亚北部，但后来他和五角大楼官员一起公开谴责了这一行为。此后，白宫对土耳其的举动做出了回应，包括制裁、提高关税和暂停1000亿美元的贸易谈判。
特朗普周三在与意大利同行的新闻发布会上表示，他不会卷入土耳其和叙利亚之间的任何冲突。
华盛顿和莫斯科都表示，他们和安卡拉一样对土耳其和叙利亚边境的安全感到担忧，但并不支持土耳其在动荡地区的军事行动。
SYRIA WARNS IT MAY SOON STRIKE BACK AS U.S. AND RUSSIA PLAN TALKS WITH TURKEY
Syria has warned it may soon retaliate against Turkey after the northern neighbor led an incursion of insurgents across the border, leaving the United States and Russia rushing to organize talks.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's political and media adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, told Russia's state-run RT outlet Wednesday that recent developments did not constitute "a Turkish military operation, but an invasion and aggression against the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic." The military action targeted Kurdish militias once backed by the Pentagon, but now allied with the Syrian government and its Russian ally in the wake of a U.S. withdrawal.
Asked about the possibility of a clash between the Syrian and Turkish militaries, Shaaban said "everything is possible" and that most of those led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra, the former Al-Qaeda affiliate now known as the Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham, and the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
She said that Syria supported President Donald Trump's decision to pull out uninvited U.S. forces, but did not want to see them replaced with Turkish occupiers. Shaaban also said that Moscow and Ankara were planning a meeting to discuss the situation in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi.
Syrian government forces raise their national flag at Tabqa air base in norther Syria's Raqqa region, October 16. The city was once the de facto capital of ISIS' self-styled caliphate but was taken by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces who have since sided with the Syrian government against a Turkish-led assault from Syrian rebels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Erdogan on Tuesday "to make a working visit to Russia in the next few days," an invitation the Turkish leader accepted, according to a Kremlin readout of their call. Russia, alongside Iran, has supported the Syrian government against an eight-year rebel and jihadi uprising backed by Turkey and previously supported by the U.S. and other regional and Western nations.
Moscow, Tehran and Ankara have managed to form a trilateral peace process to end Syria's war. The recent Turkish-led attack on Kurdish forces that fought ISIS with the Pentagon's assistance but were considered terrorist organizations by Turkey, however, has created a new rift among the trio.
During his conversation with Erdogan, Putin "noted the deterioration of the humanitarian situation along the Syrian-Turkish border" and warned that ISIS prisoners held in the majority-Kurd-ruled territory "must not be allowed to take advantage of this situation."
Speaking Wednesday in Sochi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference that a date had not been announced, but that topics would include "the situation in Syria, the tasks of ensuring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in an uncompromising struggle with the remnants of terrorist gangs."
Putin's special Syria envoy Alexander Lavrentiev said on Tuesday that Russia "will not allow" direct conflict between the Turkish and Syria militaries. He called such a clash "unacceptable."
Turkish troops walk alongside an armored personnel carrier through the town of Tukhar, north of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on October 14, as Turkey and its allies continue their assault on border towns held by Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria. Turkey wants to create a roughly 20-mile buffer zone along its border to keep Kurdish-led forces at bay and also to send back some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it hosts.
Also on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that he, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser Robert O'Brien and special representative to Syria James Jeffrey would lead a delegation to Turkey "to call on Turkey to stop the invasion, enact an immediate ceasefire & begin negotiations to restore peace and stability to the region." It was expected they would meet with Erdogan regarding the situation in northern Syria.
While Trump initially signaled support for the Turkish incursion into northern Syria, he later joined Pentagon officials in outright condemning it. The White House has since responded to Turkey's moves with sanctions, tariff hikes and the suspension of $100 billion-dollar trade deal talks.
At a press conference alongside his Italian counterpart, Trump said Wednesday he would not get involved in any conflict between Turkey and Syria.
Both Washington and Moscow have said they shared Ankara's security concerns about the Turkish-Syrian border, but have not supported its military actions in the restive region.
