Russia: Turkey Troop Ops Against Kurds

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia has information that Turkey's military is entrenched a few hundred meters (yards) inside Syrian territory to prevent Kurdish groups from strengthening their positions.

In an interview with Russian REN TV broadcast on Sunday, Lavrov calls the move part of Turkey's "creeping expansion" in northern Syria.

He said: "According to our information, they are digging in a few hundred meters from the border inside Syria."

Lavrov said he had seen the reports of Turkish tanks on the border, but gave no further details about Turkey's military presence in Syria.

The Russian foreign minister said Turkey has declared a sovereign right to create a security zone on Syrian territory to prevent the unification of Kurdish enclaves to the east and west.

(KA)