Erdogan in Moscow for Syria talks

Turkey and Russia have agreed to create a security zone in Syria and hold a multilateral summit that will also include Iran.

The announcement was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

The two leaders discussed the situation in Syria as the nearly eight-year conflict winds down in the war-torn country.

Putin and Erdogan called each other "dear friend" while exchanging greetings at the start of the talks, hailing the close ties between their countries and their importance for regional security.

Turkey is seeking to establish a 30-kilometer-long safe zone along the Syrian border to contain a US-allied Kurdish militia that Turkey considers a "terrorist" group.

On Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the situation in Idlib, a Syrian city 60 km southwest of Aleppo, was rapidly deteriorating and that it was almost under the full control of Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS - a rebel group that was previously linked to al-Qaida. Russia and Turkey have tried to create a de-escalation zone.

Putin and Erdogan agreed on the creation of a security zone in Idlib and the forces from both countries will continue to fight to take the area from the rebels, according to the Kremlin.

"Turkey will continue strengthening cooperation with Russia in Syria. Russia and Turkey will continue the joint fight against terrorism in Idlib in order to guarantee security for the Syrian population," Erdogan said.

Putin said: "We are working rather closely with Mr President (Erdogan), and we meet regularly. Our meetings are always comprehensive and fruitful, without any exaggeration. This provides good results in terms of practical work."

He said a new round of talks among Russia, Turkey and Iran will be held soon, adding that the summits "are very helpful as they focus on settlement in Syria".

Russia and Turkey take a clear and principled position to achieve a long-term resolution to the Syrian crisis on a political-diplomatic basis, Putin said.

He stressed that the solution should be in line with UN Security Council resolutions, while Syria's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity should be preserved.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/25/2019 page12)