UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "alarmed by escalating tensions" between Syria and Turkey and warned that the risk of the 18-month-long Syrian conflict embroiling the entire region was growing, his spokesman said on Thursday.
"The Secretary-General is alarmed by escalating tensions along the Syrian-Turkish border," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. "As the situation inside Syria deteriorates yet further ... the risks of regional conflict and the threat to international peace and security are also increasing."
A mortar bomb from Syria landed in Turkey on Wednesday, killing at least five people. Turkey responded later the same day by striking targets in Syria. Turkey asked the UN Security Council to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression and ensure Turkish territorial integrity is respected.
Turkey's parliament gave authorization on Thursday for military operations outside Turkish borders if the government deemed them necessary, a day after artillery shelling from Syria killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.
At the UN, Russia blocked the adoption of a draft statement condemning a deadly Syrian mortar attack on a Turkish town and proposed a weaker text that would call for "restraint" on the border without referring to breaches of international law.
Western diplomats complained that Russia's proposals, if accepted, would weaken the statement to an unacceptable degree.
"The members of the Security Council called on the parties to exercise restraint and avoid military clashes which could lead to a further escalation of the situation in the border area between Syria and Turkey," said Russia's proposed statement, which was obtained by Reuters.
If adopted, the non-binding statement would also call on the two neighbors to "reduce tensions and forge a path toward a peaceful resolution of the Syrian crisis." The Syrian mortar attack on Wednesday killed five Turkish civilians.
The Russian draft keeps some of the language in the original text proposed by Azerbaijan, and urges the Syrian government to investigate the attack.
The United States also proposed amendments to "strengthen" the original text, according a Western diplomat.
The original draft, circulated to the 15-nation council on Wednesday, condemned "in the strongest terms" the Syrian army's shelling of a town in Turkey and demanded an end to violations of Turkish territory.
Both drafts include the line: "This represents a demonstration of the spilling over of the crisis in Syria into neighboring states to an alarming degree."
However, the Russians proposed removing the following sentence, which diplomats said was crucial language: "Such violations of international law constitute a serious threat to international peace and security."
The language removed by the Russians, UN envoys say, was intended to signal that the Security Council, which is supposed to be the guardian of international peace and security, should remain involved in the matter.

'Typical of Russia"

Another problem with the Russian proposal, Western diplomats said on condition of anonymity, is that it attempts to balance the Syrian attack with the Turkish response and shifts the blame away from the Syrian army, suggesting an investigation is needed to determine whether the Syrian army was behind the attack.
"I don't think the Russian proposal will do much to unify the council," a Western diplomat told Reuters. "I don't think it's acceptable but perhaps we can reach a compromise."
Another envoy said: "It's very typical of Russia trying to protect Assad."
Some 30,000 people have been killed across Syria in the 18-month-long conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels seeking to oust him, opposition activists say. The civil war is seeing growing sectarian overtones which threaten to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syria, and China have vetoed three resolutions condemning Assad's government. They also reject the idea of sanctioning those in power in Syria who are responsible for the military assault against the opposition.