MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is correct saying that the fighting in the south of Turkey has turned into civil war, Farhat Patiyev, member of the Kurdish National Congress, told Sputnik on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Putin said it was impossible to guarantee safety for Russians in Turkey, with the south of the country practically mired in civil war and terrorist attacks happening almost every week.
"The [Russian] president said what is really going on in Turkey now, there is a civil war with punitive operations carried out [by Turkish forces], there is a war going on with the local [Kurdish] population," Patiyev, who is also a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, said.
The Kurdish politician added that the Russian leader’s statement came just days after the statement by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the cities where fighting has been going on should be demolished.
