Macron voices 'concern' over Turkey's Syria offensive

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday expressed "concern" over Turkey's cross-border offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia in a telephone call with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"While recognising Turkey's security needs, the President of the Republic told his Turkish counterpart of his concern over the military intervention launched Saturday in the canton of Afrin," the French presidency said.

The call came as the United States voiced alarm that the operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Ankara sees as a terror group, could endanger attempts to end the Syrian civil war.

The United States has worked closely with the YPG to defeat the Islamic State group (IS) jihadists in Syria.

In his call with Erdogan, Macron stressed the need to combat IS and "all jihadists present as a matter of priority" and also expressed concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, "particularly in Idlib province and Eastern Ghouta".

At France's urging, the UN Security Council on Monday discussed the offensive against the Kurdish militias and the worsening humanitarian crisis but did not condemn or demand an end to the sensitive Turkish operation.