MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Appeals to Russia by some Western countries not to hit a 100-km corridor on the Syria-Turkey border with airstrikes turned out to be attempts to ensure uninterrupted logistics supply to terrorist groups, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
"Some of our partners literally begged us 'not to touch' the 100-km stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border around the town of Azaz," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"In reality, it was done to ensure regular daily supplies of the Islamic State, Nusra Front and other terrorist groups with weaponry, ammunition, food and new terrorists," Zakharova stressed.
Russia launched its counterterrorist military operation in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.