ISTANBUL

Russia claimed Wednesday that the recent escalation in Syria has a “Ukrainian trace” as Moscow accused Kyiv of interacting with the armed anti-regime group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

“It is clear that there is a ‘Ukrainian trace’ involved,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news conference in Moscow. She said Russia received information about alleged interactions between Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) and the HTS, which Russia lists as a “terrorist organization.”

Zakharova claimed that the alleged interactions include talks on the transfer of drones and expertise with regards to their use, and said Moscow condemned the attack by anti-regime groups.

She argued that there were many foreign members among the anti-regime groups, including those from post-Soviet countries.

Zakharova accused the groups of “provoking” a new wave of refugees in Syria and expressed Russia’s solidarity with Bashar al-Assad's regime.

“We are actively working with international partners to ensure the earliest possible stabilization of the situation in Syria, primarily by using the potential of the Astana format,” said Zakharova, noting that the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Türkiye are in close contact.

She said Russia hopes all countries that have influence on the situation in Syria will use it to quickly restore stability, adding that bolstering the positions of armed anti-regime groups in Syria would create additional security threats for the Middle East in general.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry “categorically rejected” Russia’s claims about Kyiv’s involvement in the worsening security situation in Syria.

“Ukraine, unlike Russia, unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the principles of the inviolability of sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries,” it said in a statement.

Reiterating its claim that Russia and Iran bear the "main responsibility" for the worsening situation in Syria, it said: "It is the crimes of the Assad regime against its own people and its unwillingness to ensure a fair dialogue within the country that have jeopardized the survival of Syria as a single independent state."

Clashes broke out Nov. 27 between Assad regime forces and anti-regime armed groups in the western countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, marking a re-escalation of fighting after a period of relative calm in the conflict that has gripped Syria for nearly 14 years.