Turkey's president in Moscow for Syria talks with Putin

24/1/2019 0:43

        Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat down for Syria-focused talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as their governments bargain over zones of influence in the war-torn country. The leaders share strong opposition to the U.S. military presence in Syria, seeing it as an obstacle to their clout in the war-torn country. The Kremlin meeting marked their first encounter since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the pullout in a Dec. 19 tweet. 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. Russia and Iran have helped Syrian President Bashar Assad to win back control of most of the country, while Turkey has backed Assad's foes during the nearly eight-year conflict. Despite that, the three countries have teamed up to broker a peace deal for Syria, united by their shared desire to undercut the U.S. clout in the re
        gion. The agreement is now tested by Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw from Syria that has left Moscow, Ankara and Tehran jockeying for influence in the country. Russia says it expects Assad's government to take over Kurdish-held border regions east of the Euphrates River following the planned U.S. troop withdrawal from the area, while Turkey objects to the prospect. Ankara strongly supports the creation of a 32-kilometer (20-mile) "safe zone" in northeastern Syria to ensure that Syrian Kurdish militia — The People's Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers to be a "terrorist group" for its ties to outlawed Kurdish rebels inside Turkey — is kept away from the Turkish border. Moscow has signaled it could be open for discussions on the Turkish push for carving out the zone, but warned that it's essential that the Syrian government takes over areas currently controlled by the U.S. and its Kurdish allies.