The authorities of Russia and Turkey will be able to prevent a military clash in Syria, Anton Morozov, a member of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, shared his opinion with Izvestia.
The day before, on February 20, the head of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Hulusi Akar, stated that the republic did not intend to enter into a clash with Russia in Idlib, and the Syrian troops were the only target of Ankara, TASS reports.
“Given the confidential nature of the relationship between the heads of state of our countries [Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan], as well as intergovernmental and interparliamentary contacts, we will be able to work out mutually acceptable solutions in order to comply with the interests of Russia and Turkey and prevent a military conflict,” MP Morozov said.
He recalled that the Russian military has a peacekeeping function in Syria and is interested in the speedy use of all warring parties.
“It is in Russia’s interests to stabilize the situation in Syria as soon as possible, defeat the terrorists, and generally establish peace in the entire Middle East,” the parliamentarian concluded.
On the eve of February 20, it became known that the leaders of the EU member states called on the parties to immediately cease hostilities in the Syrian province of Idlib.
Earlier, on February 19, Erdogan announced that the start of a military operation in Idlib is a “matter of time”. According to him, the talks held this week between Russia and Turkey to resolve the military conflict in Idlib did not bring any results. He also accused Moscow and Damascus of striking civilians in Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry denied this information. The Kremlin said that the Russian side continues to adhere to the Sochi accords and does not attack the civilian population of this country.
On October 22, 2019, following talks in Sochi, Moscow and Ankara adopted a memorandum on joint patrolling in northern Syria.