Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a joint press conference on lately Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Ankara. He especially underlined in his speech that Turkey, Russia agree on territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria.
Erdoğan's remarks came after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in capital Ankara.
"We have discussed regional issues including Iraq and Syria. We both agree on the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria," Erdoğan told a news conference with Putin.
"As Turkey and Russia, we have reconfirmed our determination to maintain our joint will and close cooperation to find a political solution for the Syrian conflict," he said.
The president also commented on Monday's illegitimate Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq, and reiterated that it had "no legitimacy" in terms of Iraqi constitution and international law.
The referendum saw Iraqis in Kurdish Regional Government-controlled areas -- and in a handful of territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, including ethnically mixed Kirkuk and Mosul -- vote on whether or not to declare independence.
Official preliminary results revealed that 93 percent of voters backed Kurdish independence, although the vote was widely criticized by the international community.
Along with Iraq's central government, Turkey, the U.S., Iran, and the UN had spoken out against the poll, warning it would distract from the ongoing fight against Daesh and further destabilize the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the de facto conditions needed to end Syria's civil had been achieved.
Putin's comments, which followed talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, come as Russia, Turkey and Iran cooperate on maintaining de-escalation zones in Syria.
