Russia has continued efforts to talk Turkey out of launching a ground operation in Syria and dialogue here has turned out to be a success, Russian Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters on Monday, TASS reports.
"[This] Dialogue is ongoing. No ground operation has been launched yet, which means there has been a positive result already. We will press on," the senior Russian diplomat noted.
Asked whether Moscow has been dissuading Ankara from conducting a ground operation, Bogdanov said, "Naturally so."
Russia believes that the initiatives to hold meetings between Turkey and Syria are the sovereign decision of the two countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.
"There seems to be an understanding in Turkey that it is necessary to normalize and maintain relations between Ankara and all neighboring countries in the region, including Syria. Judging by the reports, there is contact between Ankara and Damascus. Again, we are in favor of normalizing relations. As for the organization of meetings at various levels, including high-level meetings, we proceed from the fact that this is a decision by two sovereign states, in this case Turkey and Syria," he told Russian reporters on Monday following political consultations between Russia and Turkey in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier announced plans to carry out a ground-based operation in northern Syria following the air raids that Turkey began there on November 20. The air operation involved more than 50 aircraft and 20 drones. According to Turkey’s top brass, terrorist strongholds, their depots and caches were destroyed during the course of the operation, with hundreds of militants killed.
