Russian envoy calls Turkey 'occupying force' in Syria
Russia's special envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said it was too soon for Turkey and Syria to hold presidential talks, citing unresolved issues like Turkey's military presence in Syria and its support for opposition groups. He emphasized normalization as the key to stabilizing Syria.
Duvar English
Russian President Vladimir Putin's Special Envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, commented on the normalization process between Turkey and Syria, according to reporting by the daily BirGün.
In an interview with the TASS news agency, Lavrentiev was asked about his assessment of the current state of the normalization process. The journalist suggested that the BRICS Summit could serve as a platform for talks between the Turkish and Syrian leaders, but this did not happen.
Lavrentiev responded, “The truth is, the Syrian president was not in Kazan, nor was his presence planned. So, I have no information about such a meeting taking place there.
He added that it was “too early” to discuss a meeting between the two countries’ presidents.
He continued, “There are some contacts through the defense ministries in a quadrilateral format. But to move these to a higher level, as we saw when the foreign and defense ministers of four countries met just a year and a half ago, it is still too early to talk about that.”
Russia was continuing efforts to achieve normalizing Syria-Turkey relations, as a key to stabilize the situation in Syria.
However, many factors including Turkey’s support for the Syrian opposition posed an issue for the process.
Lavrentiev commented that Turkey was essentially an “occupying force” in Syria, and no normalization would occur before the troops withdrew. “It is difficult for Damascus to engage in dialogue without receiving firm guarantees from Turkey about withdrawing its troops,” the special envoy concluded.