Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russia's President has criticized Turkey's military strike in northeastern Syria.

Iran Press/Europe: Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he doubts that Turkey will be able to contain Daesh (ISIL) militants based in northern Syria as a result of its new military operation.

According to Putin, so far the areas with Daesh militants were controlled by Kurdish military formations.

"Now the Turkish army is there, the Kurds are abandoning these camps, they [Daesh militants] can just run away. I am not sure whether the Turkish army will be able to take control of it, and how quickly," Putin said in a statement published on the Kremlin’s website.

Referring to the data of the Russian military command, Putin added that now in Syria there are hundreds of thousands of fighters with thousands of them from the CIS countries (former Soviet Union). "This is a real threat to us," the Russian president said.

Turkey launched the new military operation so-called "Operation Peace Spring" in northeastern Syria on October 9.

Ankara says it aims to establish a security zone near its border, fight terrorists and return Syrian refugees to their homes.

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