Live Updates: Turkey Continues 'Operation Peace Spring' in Northeastern Syria

The Kurdish National Council in Syria, an umbrella group of most of the Kurdish parties in the country, welcomes the temporary ceasefire in northern Syrian, agreed by the United States and Turkey, the vice president of the council, Abdul Hakim Bashar, said, adding that there is still an array of unresolved problems.

"The ceasefire is such great news which will help all parties to avoid the death of innocent people, relocation and destruction of the region. I hope that the ceasefire will be on an ongoing basis in accordance with the Turkish-American consensus. However, unanswered questions remain," Hakim Bashar said.

According to him, it is unclear what will happen after the ceasefire expires. The questions are related to the future control over local civilian populations, the fate of municipalities belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other issues.

"What kind of military protection the 'safe zone' will have, and who will manage it at the civilian level — these are not clear," he added.

Units of Kurdish militia are ready to withdraw from the Syrian-Turkish border to protect the local population, Riad Darar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD), said on Thursday.

"Until now, negotiations have been held exclusively between the US vice president and the Turkish foreign minister, we do not have the details. It is important for us to come to such an agreement so that no one gets hurt and the fire is stopped, so that our people continue to be safe," Darar said.

"We are located at a distance of five kilometers [from the border with Turkey], and in some areas - at a distance of 14 kilometers, it’s not a problem for us to move a little farther away to protect our people," he stressed.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the five-day ceasefire in northern Syria agreed by the United States and Turkey, while recognizing that significant effort would still be required to resolve the country's crisis, his spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Secretary-General welcomes any effort to de-escalate the situation and protect civilians, in line with the UN Charter and international humanitarian law,” the statement said. “The Secretary-General recognizes that there is still a long way to go for an effective solution to the crisis in Syria.”

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Turkish Red Crescent intends to continue providing aid to northern Syria, choosing the border city of Ras al-Ain, which was captured in the first days of Operation Peace Spring, as the destination of its next humanitarian convoy, according to the organisation’s president, Kerem Kinik.

"Regularly we will deliver the humanitarian aid. Now it is enough for one month to the downtown of Tal Abyad, but we are seeking to Ras al-Ain, so next convoy will be there," Kinik, who is also a vice president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said.

Ras al-Ain is one of the largest cities of the Hasakah province. Since the start of the Syrian armed conflict, the city has been de facto controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Earlier in the week, the Turkish Red Crescent shipped aid to Tell Abiad in Raqqa province. Both border cities were seized by Turkey over the weekend.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the situation in northeastern Syria by phone on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Issues related to the development of the situation in northeast Syria were discussed. A common opinion was expressed on the need to achieve a lasting and long-term stabilisation of the situation on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria through dialogue between Damascus and Ankara, as well as between by the Syrian authorities and representatives of the Syrian Kurds," it said.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday described Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria as unconcealed aggression, and stressed that Damascus would counter it by all legitimate means.

“The criminal Turkish aggression carried out by the Erdogan regime in Syria ... regardless of the false slogans, is an bald attack, to which Syria has already responded in several places, attacking Turkish agents and its terrorists," Assad said at a meeting with Iraqi national security adviser Falih al-Fayyad.

"Syria will continue to respond and counter all forms of this aggression in all regions of the country using all legitimate means," the Syrian president said in his first comment on Ankara's actions since the start of Turkey's Operation Peace Spring.

The Kremlin assesses the situation in the area of ​​Turkey’s military operation in Syria as tense, Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss this, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday.

“You know that the UN expressed serious concern about the humanitarian situation, the flow of refugees to neighboring countries. Indeed, during a recent telephone conversation, President Putin also expressed concern about the possible humanitarian consequences of this operation. Our position is well known, it has not undergone any changes," Peskov said.

He said the situation in northeast Syria remained tense.

“This will, of course, be a very important issue on the agenda of the talks in Sochi on Tuesday between presidents Putin and Erdogan. At the same time, of course, as the presidents always do, they will use this meeting to compare positions on current issues of Russian-Turkish relations," Peskov said.