France's Hollande warns of risk of Turkey-Russia war over Syria

February 20, 2016 02:16

French President Francois Hollande said on Friday that there was a risk of war between Turkey and Russia over Syria, adding that Moscow should stop backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia's foreign ministry said earlier on Friday that it intends to call a session of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the Turkish government's statements about a possible ground operation in Syria.

"There is a risk of war between Turkey and Russia," Hollande told France Inter radio. "There is an escalation."

"Negotiations must resume, bombardments must stop, aid must come," he said.

Russian warplanes entered Syria's increasingly complex five-year-old conflict at the end of September, backing the forces of their ally Assad, and bombing rebel positions.

The Turkish military shot down a Russian jet in November it said had breached its airspace while on a bombing campaign in neighbouring Syria.

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