Turkey’s prime minister accused Russia of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in north Syria

Turkey’s prime minister accused Russia of attempted “ethnic cleansing” in the north of Syria, saying that Moscow was trying to drive out the local Turkmen and Sunni Muslims to protect its military interests.

Ahmet Davutoglu’s comments will further harm strained relations between Moscow and Ankara, already at their worst in recent memory after Turkish forces downed a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border late last month.

“Russia is trying to make ethnic cleansing in northern Latakia to force [out] all Turkmen and Sunni population who do not have good relations with the regime,” Davutoglu told reporters.