Ankara hopes Turkey-Russia-Syria talks continue: Defense Minister
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The Turkish Defense Minister says his country hopes the Turkey-Russia-Syria talks continue in a reasonable and logical manner.
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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that trilateral talks among the Turkish, Russian, and Syrian defense ministers will continue, adding that Ankara hopes for a "reasonable" negotiation.
In December, Moscow hosted the first negotiation between the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers in 11 years.
"Our position at a meeting in Moscow was to protect our country and our people. We expressed our determination to our interlocutors: for us, there can be no question of doing anything against our Syrian brothers, both in Turkey and in Syria. They should not rely on unrealistic reports or accept other attitudes," Akar told reporters.
"Our negotiations will continue. We hope that the process will continue in a reasonable and logical way," the top diplomat added.
The Turkish Minister pointed out that Turkey and Russia could "develop" joint patrols in northern Syria but did not give any details on the issue.
On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told TRT that the possibility of holding a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian presidents will be decided following talks between the country's foreign ministers.
Cavusoglu indicated that Washington did not ask Ankara questions regarding the recent communications with Damascus, pointing out that Turkey believes that the US is against the normalization process.
The Turkish Foreign Minister indicated that the US' long approach toward Syria failed and the war there must be put to an end but made it clear that talks with Syrian authorities do not mean quick normalization of relations between the two countries.
A couple of days ago, Cavusoglu revealed after a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Ankara proposed holding a meeting between the foreign ministers of Syria and Turkey in a third country during the second half of next January.
The possible meeting would be the second at the ministerial level, after the "constructive" meeting that brought together the defense ministers of the two countries in Moscow.
Turkey agrees to pull out its troops from Syria: Reports
On the same day, the Syrian Al-Watan newspaper reported that the meeting between the defense ministers of Russia, Turkey, and Syria, which was held in Moscow, established an agreement on some critical topics, most notably the withdrawal of Turkish groups from Syria.
Turkey committed during the meeting in Moscow to totally withdraw its forces from Syria and to respect the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, a source said as quoted by the newspaper.
Informed sources confirmed to the Syrian newspaper that the atmosphere of the trilateral meeting was the result of several meetings previously held between the intelligence services in Turkey and Syria.
The sources added that the meeting would not have taken place without several points agreed upon between the two sides, in a way that meets Damascus' interest and conditions, the most important of which is the withdrawal of Turkish forces from all Syrian lands.
Read more: Turkey: First meeting with Syria important step, others to follow
