Akar: Our talks with the Russian side concerning Idlib were constructive
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that his country held talks with the Russian side recently to discuss all mutual differences and violations of concerning the Memorandum of Understanding between them.
The official website of the Turkish Ministry of Defense published Akar’s speech to journalists, confirming that his country had held a “constructive” phone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, in which it was agreed to take joint measures to ensure a ceasefire in northwestern Syria.
Akar did not refer in his speech to his country’s position on approval or rejection of the Russian proposal presented by Moscow a few days ago regarding the opening of humanitarian crossings in Syria, but he was satisfied with describing the talks with the Russian side as “constructive.”
While no official statement has come out from the Turkish side regarding Ankara’s response to the Russian proposal to open humanitarian crossings in Syria, Reuters quoted Turkish security officials as saying, that Russia’s announcement to open two border crossings to northwest Syria is “incorrect.”
On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had reached an agreement with Turkey regarding the opening of several crossings between the Assad regime and opposition areas, and the de-escalation agreement between Ankara and Moscow.
