The newspaper writes that Turkey will soon announce that it will withdraw troops from Syria. Al-Watan with reference to sources. Ankara reiterated that it “respects Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“According to the results of the tripartite meeting, which took place in Moscow in the presence of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu with the participation of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and General Ali Mahmud Abbas, Turkey agreed to completely withdraw its troops from Syria, ”the publication says.
According to a source in the newspaper, all of the participants in the talks also admitted that Kurdish formations affiliated with the PKK are “agents of the USA and Israel”.
The talks between Ankara and Damascus were the first in 11 years.
“Constructive character”
After the meeting between the defense ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and discussed the coordination of the steps to be taken in the settlement in Syria.
“The ministers hailed the new year and discussed cooperation plans for 2023, including further coordination of steps between foreign ministries to advance Syrian settlement,” the diplomatic service reported.
The ministry also explained that the heads of defense departments “noted after the meeting the constructive nature of the dialogue in this format and that it should continue to further stabilize the situation”.
“The goal is to fight terrorism”
Turkish Minister Hulusi Akar emphasized once again that the Turkish army is forced to stay on Syrian territory because one-third of the country is controlled by terrorists.
“We emphasized in the meeting that we support Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that our sole aim is to fight terrorism. “We noted that one-third of Syria is under the control of terrorist organizations,” Akar said.
The Minister stressed that after the results of the talks, Ankara agreed to maintain contacts with Damascus. According to him, negotiations began too late, 11 years later, because “there are many factors and actors involved.” “We cannot expect everything to be decided at once at this meeting. “We said that we blocked the terror corridor and thus contributed to your territorial integrity,” he said.
The Turkish side also drew attention to the importance of the voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their homes.
new meeting
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has already stated that Ankara has offered to schedule a meeting between the Turkish and Syrian Foreign Ministers in the second half of January. Negotiations should take place in a third, neutral country.
“We said we would do it in the second half of January. Çavuşoğlu said that the meeting could take place in a third country.
According to the news of Habertürk TV channel, it is not clear in which city the ministers will meet, but “it could be Moscow”.