US actions in Syria either a 'deliberate provocation' or ill-informed, says Russia

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that US actions in Syria were either a "deliberate provocation" or indicated Washington lacked an understanding of the situation there, RIA news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

The United States on Sunday urged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally Turkey to "exercise restraint" and limit its military operations in northwestern Syria, where Turkish forces are attacking a US-backed Kurdish militia they aim to sweep from the border.

Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies began their push to clear YPG fighters from the northwestern enclave on Saturday, opening a new front in Syria's civil war despite calls for restraint from United States, which has armed the YPG.

Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organisation with ties to Kurdish militant separatists within Turkey, and it has been infuriated by US support for the fighters. Washington, which is backing the YPG in the battle against Islamic State in Syria, said on Sunday it was concerned about the situation.

Russian officials are in contact with the Turkish leadership over Ankara's military operation against Kurdish YPG fighters in northern Syria's Afrin region, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Peskov, speaking on a conference call with reporters, declined to comment when asked if Moscow had known in advance about the operation. He said Russia continued to believe in the fundamental importance of Syria's territorial integrity.