Russia and Turkey have a crucial role to play in resolving the conflict in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a day after the two nations agreed to coordinate military steps following the US decision to withdraw its forces.
In a New Year’s message to Erdogan published by the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin said: “Moscow and Ankara are making a decisive contribution to the fight against terrorism in Syria, as well as to the promotion of a political settlement in that country.”
The comments follow talks on Syria between the Russian and Turkish foreign and defense ministers, as well as the two nations’ intelligence chiefs, held in Moscow as they move to fill the void left by US President Donald Trump’s decision to order a military pullout.
“We reached an agreement on how Russian and Turkish military representatives on the ground will continue to coordinate their actions in these new conditions, with the goal of decisively defeating the terrorist threat in Syria,” Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov told reporters after the talks.
The two nations have a “common will to clear Syrian territories of all terrorist groups,” Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Russia on Saturday said that Syrian government forces have taken control of Manbij, a strategic town close to the border with Turkey that had been under the command of a US-backed Kurdish militia before Trump announced his withdrawal.
On Friday, the US-led coalition had denied what it called “incorrect” information about changes to the presence of military forces in Manbij. The Turkish army was threatening an offensive to eliminate the presence of Kurdish People’s Protection Unit fighters from the town, saying it is a terrorist organization linked to separatists inside its own borders.
Trump announced the withdrawal on Dec. 19 after a phone call with Erdogan, prompting the departure of his then-secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, in protest.
Brett McGurk, the lead envoy for the US-led coalition against Islamic State, also resigned.
However, Trump might be open to changing his strategy after an eye-opening trip to Iraq the day after Christmas, US Senator Lindsey Graham said.
The US is “inside the 10-yard line in defeating ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syris], but we’re not there yet. If we leave now, the Kurds are going to get slaughtered,” Graham said on CNN.
Graham, who sits on the US Senate Committee on Armed Forces, later said on Twitter that he learned Trump was in contact with US commanders to make sure that “our Kurdish allies are protected.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Erdogan in a phone call on Sunday that she expected Turkey to react with “restraint and responsibility” following the US withdrawal, according to a German government spokeswoman.
Merkel praised Turkey for taking in Syrian refugees, the spokeswoman said.
While Islamic State has been pushed back thanks to coordinated efforts, the group remains a significant threat that warrants further attention, the spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.
Erdogan and Merkel discussed the fight against terror and the issue of migrants moving toward Europe, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing the presidency.
Turkish officials were seeking Russia’s approval to access Syrian airspace for strikes against Kurdish militants and Islamic State, Hurriyet newspaper reported on Friday, without saying how it got the information.
Russia has said the Syrian government should retake areas vacated by the US, but also joined Trump in endorsing a role for Turkey in continuing the fight against Islamic State.
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