Top Turkish, Russian diplomats discuss Syria, other matters
Turkish foreign minister in a phone call with his Russian counterpart discussed the upcoming meeting between the presidents of two countries, according to diplomatic sources on Sunday. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Sergey Lavrov discussed the measures to create a favourable atmosphere to improve working relations between Ankara and Moscow.
- World
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 06:33 | 01 March 2020
- Modified Date: 06:33 | 01 March 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu agreed on the need to create a "favourable atmosphere" to improve working relations between their countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday.
"The ministers have declared in favour of the adoption of measures to create a favourable atmosphere that will facilitate the effectiveness of the dialogue on the implementation of agreements in support of the Syrian settlement and other issues on the agenda of Russian-Turkish relations," the ministry said.
Lavrov and Çavuşoğlu, in a phone call, also discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On Saturday, Çavuşoğlu had told reporters that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet at the beginning of March.
Turkey's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Friday also said that Erdoğan and Putin in their phone conversation agreed to meet face to face soon.
Discussions on Idlib, Syria de-escalation zone, just across Turkey's southern border, are expected to be the main course of talks between the two leaders, as at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred and tens of others injured in a deadly airstrike by the Bashar al-Assad regime forces in Idlib late Thursday.
The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a September 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited in the region.
But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by Assad and Russian forces in the zone since then, as the cease-fire continues to be violated.
Thursday's attack was one of a series since January on Turkish troops, with Turkish officials keeping their pledge that such assaults would not go unanswered.
On Sunday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced his country has launched Operation Spring Shield in Idlib in response to the recent regime attack on Turkish troops in the region.