China stressed at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Wednesday that Syria is a sovereign state, and called on Turkey to immediately cease all cross-border attacks and to comply with international humanitarian law in Syria.

Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, accused Turkey of “repeatedly pounding northern Syria with airstrikes and artillery shelling and threatening to launch ground operations” and pointed out the need for a political solution in the region.

Turkey’s representative to the UN, Feridun Sinirlioğlu, responded to China’s allegations on Thursday and said “We don’t need any lecture from those who violate international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”

Turkey argues that the recent air and ground operations are within the scope of the right of self-defence, under Article 51 of the United Nations Convention. International law experts and human rights groups, on the other hand, state that Turkey violates international law in its cross-border military operations.

Shuang previously expressed China’s deep concern about Turkey’s hostile actions in Syria on 30 November, calling for immediate halting and avoidance of any further escalation.

The Chinese representative also held Turkey responsible for the decrease in the water level in the Euphrates River as well as water outages at the Allouk Water Station in northern Syria.

Sinirlioğlu argued that the Kurdish forces in Syria and the Syrian regime abuse the water level decrease in the Euphrates River “repeatedly for their ill-minded agendas”.

The US-based non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 7 November accused Turkey of aggravating a cholera epidemic in Kurdish regions of northern Syria by cutting off the flow of the Euphrates river.