As the
representatives of the Syrian government and opposition factions meet in Astana
for talks brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Veysi Kaynak spoke in an interview with Sputnik Turkey about Turkish-Russian
cooperation in fight against Daesh in Syria and the possible outcome of these
talks. According to Kaynak, these negotiations are a very promising
initiative, which, not being an alternative to the Geneva peace process,
are capable of providing the basis for signing of a final
comprehensive agreement on the Syrian crisis.
“Daesh occupied
almost half of the territory of Iraq and Syria. We have seen that
as a result of these attacks carried out by the terrorists
in various areas, the local population was forced to leave their
homes and radical terrorist groups started operating in the region. The
situation had reached catastrophic proportions,” Kaynak told Sputnik
Turkey.
Against the
backdrop of this humanitarian catastrophe, Turkey, Russia and Iran took
the initiative and managed to reach an agreement on evacuation and
establishment of a ceasefire.However, the deputy minister noted that the
situation in Syria is far from stable and the citizens are still
being slaughtered by the terrorists.
“Unfortunately, the allies in the anti-terrorist coalition set
up to combat Daesh, instead of forming an alliance
with Turkey regarding the use of ground forces, chose
to form an alliance with the Party of Democratic Union, which is
the Syrian branch of the PKK,” the deputy minister said. According to Kaynak, Russia and Turkey managed
to establish close cooperation on humanitarian issues
in particular to prevent bombing of civilian targets and
civilian population in various parts of Syria.
Speaking about the course of operation
against Daesh in the region of El Bab, Kaynak said that Russia
and Turkey managed to coordinate actions of their air force so
as to not harm each other during the attacks on terrorist’s
positions.
The minister stressed that this coordination is an important positive step for both the countries.“Due to the operation, Shield
of Euphrates, which was launched on the territory of Jarabulus
with the ultimate objective of liberating El-Bab from Daesh,
terrorist activities have stopped in the area between Jarabulus and
Azaz which is about 2000 square km. all the way till El-Bab. The
number of terrorists crossing the Turkish-Syrian border has also fallen significantly,”
the deputy minister said.
Currently, civilians have started returning back to their
households. According to the deputy prime minister, this points
to the fact that Turkey's strategy together with Russia and Iran is
accurate and is aimed at ending the bloodshed in Syria.
Talking about the Astana talks which are aimed at making
progress of the Syrian resolution, the deputy minister said that,
“Negotiations in Astana inspire great hope for progress for the
resolution of the Syrian conflict.”He noted that the meeting held in Astana
is not an alternative to the UN-led talks in Geneva. However,
the summit in Astana is intended to pave the way for a final
agreement.
“The main objective of the negotiations is to ensure that the
terrorists in the region do not control the territories of countries
such as Iraq and Syria and do not oppress and kill its civilians. Both
Turkey and Russia have repeatedly said and continue to say that the
protection of Syria and Iraq's territorial integrity is the basis
of the strategy to ensure stability of the entire Middle East
region,” Kaynak concluded.
Representatives of the Syrian government and opposition factions
met in Astana for talks brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran,
following a ceasefire in the crisis-torn country endorsed by the
UN Security Council on December 31, 2016. It is the first time that the
government delegation has been seated at the same table as the armed
opposition. According to Kazakh Foreign Ministry, the talks are expected
to last for 24 hours and conclude on Tuesday.
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