The presidents of Russia and Turkey have announced joint actions to resolve the conflict in Syria, the Kremlin’s press service reported on Tuesday evening.
The telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Turkish leader. According to the Kremlin, Recep Tayip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin continued discussing developments in Syria, including in its northern regions. They pointed out the need to prevent conflicts between the Turkish army and the Syrian government armed forces. The two politicians stressed the need for ‘continuing the political settlement of the situation in Syria’ and agreed that the ‘territorial integrity’ of the country should be preserved.
In addition, Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted Vladimir Putin’s to make a working visit to Russia in the next few days.
In their previous telephone conversation, Putin appealed to the president of Turkey to avoid any steps that could thwart the peace process in Syria.
On Tuesday, Alexander Lavrentyev, Putin’s special representative for Syria, said that the Turkish operation in northeastern Syria was ‘unacceptable’.
Turkey launched an armed offensive in Syria on October, 9. They set the aim to force the Kurdish YPG militia out of the part on the middle section of the Turkish-Syrian border and establish a ‘security zone’ there.
For the past years, Russia has been providing military assistance to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
