NATO's ruling council will meet Friday for urgent talks on the Syria crisis after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike blamed on Damascus.
"The North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 29 NATO allies, will meet on Friday 28 February following a request by Turkey to hold consultations under article 4 of NATO’s founding Washington Treaty on the situation in Syria," the alliance said in a statement.
The United Nations on Thursday called for urgent action in northwest Syria, warning that "the risk of greater escalation grows by the hour."
"The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and expresses particular concern about the risk to civilians from escalating military actions," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. "Without urgent action, the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour."
The statement came after the 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, as violence escalates in the already chaotic region.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was following the situation with "grave concern," Dujarric said.
"The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict," he said, calling for a UN-facilitated peace process.
The United States demanded that the Syrian regime and its ally Russia end their "despicable" operation in Idlib and vowed to support Ankara.
"We stand by our NATO ally Turkey and continue to call for an immediate end to this despicable offensive by the Assad regime, Russia and Iranian-backed forces," a State Department spokesperson said.
"We are looking at options on how we can best support Turkey in this crisis."
Reacting earlier to preliminary reports on the killing of the Turkish soldiers, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the US ambassador to NATO, said the incident amounted to a "huge change."
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemned "indiscriminate" airstrikes by the Assad regime and Russia, his spokesman said Friday.
Stoltenberg “called on them to stop their offensive, to respect international law and to back UN efforts for a peaceful solution.”
The NATO chief made his stance in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"He urged all parties to deescalate this dangerous situation and avoid further worsening of the horrendous humanitarian situation in the region,” Stoltenberg’s spokesman said.
