Turkish, Syrian top spies hold meeting with Russia’s initiative: Report
Turkey's intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mamlouk held a meeting under Russian auspices, according to reporting by the French intelligence website Intelligence Online.
Duvar English
The French intelligence website Intelligence Online reported that the heads of Turkish and Syrian intelligence have held a meeting through the mediation of Russia.
The website did not share information as to whether Turkey's intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mamlouk held the meeting face-to-face or online.
The website reported “unsatisfactory” results of the meeting, noting that it “at least allowed the two sides to determine their demands and present their terms to each other.”
It said that Moscow sponsored the meeting as part of its efforts to “play the role of a mediator” between the Turkish government and the Syrian regime.
In August, Çavuşoğlu revealed that he had met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad last year during non-aligned movement meetings in Belgrad. He said that he had told his Syrian counterpart that establishing peace in Syria could be established by bringing the government and the opposition together.
After visiting Russia earlier in August, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested that Turkey cooperate with the Syrian government along their joint border, where Ankara is planning a further military incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters he says pose a security threat.
Turkey, which has carried out four military operations in northern Syria since 2016, says it is creating a safe zone where some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it is currently hosting could return.