istanbul: Despite a Russian-brokered rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top aide said on Saturday that a new Turkish ground attack in Syria was “anytime possible”.
The Kremlin seeks to end more than a decade of animosity between neighboring countries that began when Turkey supported rebel efforts to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad at the start of the Syrian civil war.
Since then, Turkey has also launched a series of incursions into northern Syria, mostly targeting Kurdish forces it considers “terrorists”.
Erdogan’s foreign policy adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, has abandoned the option of launching a new operation that Ankara has warned for months just because Russia is pushing for peace. said not.
“Ground operations are always possible, depending on the level of threat we face,” Karin told reporters.
“Turkey will never target the Syrian state or Syrian civilians.”
His comments came two days after Assad said future talks with Ankara should aim at “ending the Turkish occupation” of parts of Syria.
Turkey has military bases in northern Syria and also supports local militias fighting the regime.
Erdogan, who called Assad a “terrorist” in 2017, has opened his mind to the idea of meeting the Syrian leader ahead of Turkey’s general elections, now scheduled for May.
Syrian and Turkish defense ministers met in Moscow in late December for the first time since 2011.
Kalin said the two sides would hold a “series of meetings” in preparation for a possible presidential summit.
He said a meeting between foreign ministers expected to take place in Moscow could take place in mid-February.
Kalin said another meeting between defense ministers could take place before the meeting. -AFPMore
