Assad's Aide Says Syrian-Turkish Talks May Take Place In Sochi

Turkey and Syria may hold talks in Sochi to discuss the situation around Turkey's military operation in northern Syria, Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian President Bashar Assad's political and media adviser, told RT Arabic broadcaster

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) Turkey and Syria may hold talks in Sochi to discuss the situation around Turkey's military operation in northern Syria, Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian President Bashar Assad's political and media adviser, told RT Arabic broadcaster.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday, as Turkey's offensive in Syria's north enters its second week, that Damascus and Ankara should establish practical cooperation, based on the 1998 bilateral Adana pact, and Russia is ready to promote their dialogue.

"Our Russian friends announced today that they were trying to organize a Turkish-Syrian security meeting in Sochi. We heard this from the Russians, we have no contact with Ankara � with the force occupying our country and destroying it," Shaaban said.

According to the official, Damascus is pleased with the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, but the government does not want the "US occupiers to be replaced by the Turkish ones.

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The 1998 deal aimed at restoring bilateral relations following a crisis that erupted due to Syria sheltering militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is officially listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. Under the agreement, Syria had to halt PKK activities on its territory.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria on October 9 in a bid to create a "safe zone" along the border that would be free of Kurdish militias, considered by Ankara an extension of the PKK. Damascus has sent forces to Syria's north to counter the Turkish military, and the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the Syrian army had seized control over Manbij, Dadat and Umm-Mial.