Turkey Remains In Close Contact With Russia On Syria - President

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2022) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he is in close contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian issue and the fight against terrorism.

"During my last trip to Sochi, Syria was an important topic for us to discuss, it was on the agenda. At the moment, we are continuing our talks with Putin, my foreign and defense ministers on the fight against terrorism. We will continue this process. I would very much like us to be able to carry out this work more effectively with Iran, but this has not happened. At the moment, we continue this solidarity and unity with Russia with the same determination," Erdogan told reporters on the plane on his way back from his visit to Ukraine.

He added that both Russia and Turkey are determined to combat terrorism in the region from the East and West of the Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea in northern Syria.

At the end of June, Erdogan said that his country would conduct a new military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated terrorist by Ankara. Since 2016, Turkey has carried out four counterterrorism operations in Syria.