BEIRUT: The Syrian government on Thursday warned Turkey against launching a military operation in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin and said that Syrian air defenses stood ready to defend against such an attack.

“We warn the Turkish leadership that if they initiate combat operations in the Afrin area, that will be considered an act of aggression by the Turkish army,” deputy foreign minister Faisal Meqdad said in a statement carried by the state media.

“The Syrian air defenses have restored their full force and they are ready to destroy Turkish aviation targets in Syrian Arab Republic skies,” he added.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk in an interview on Thursday that Turkey would intervene in Afrin and Manbij to counter the Syrian Kurdish YPG militias.

Turkish forces are already deployed in areas of Syria on either side of the YPG-controlled Afrin. The Syrian army holds land to the south.

“The presence of any Turkish forces on Syrian lands is “totally rejected,” Meqdad added. He said that military action by Ankara would complicate its role as a party to diplomatic efforts and put it on “the same level as the terrorist groups.”

Meanwhile, Turkey dispatched its military chief to Moscow on Thursday, seeking approval for an air campaign in Afrin, although Damascus warned it could shoot down any Turkish planes in its skies.

Turkey’s foreign minister said the Moscow trip by Chief of Staff Hulusi Akar was part of talks with both Russia and Iran, the two main backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad, to allow Turkish planes to take part in an Afrin campaign.

The diplomacy was the strongest signal yet that Turkey plans direct military action against territory held by Kurdish militia, potentially opening a new front in Syria’s civil war.

It would mean confronting Kurds allied to the United States at a time when Turkey’s relations with Washington are reaching the breaking point.

“We will intervene in Afrin,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told broadcaster CNN Turk, adding he did not expect Russia to oppose any operation there. “We are meeting the Russians and Iran on the use of air space.”

Turkey has ratcheted up its threats to take military action in Afrin in the past week, in response to US plans to support setting up a 30,000-strong force to guard areas held by Kurdish-led fighters in a large part of Syria east of Afrin.

