Moscow seeks clarification on Erdogan's Syria remarks

Russia expected Ankara to clarify reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted the country's army to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

"We certainly hope that in the near future our Turkish partner presents some clarification on this," Xinhua news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The media on Tuesday quoted Erdogan as saying in Istanbul that Turkish troops entered Syria in August to put an end to the rule of Assad.

Erdogan's statements on Syria contradicts the previous Russian-Turkish agreements, TASS news agency quoted Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and African Countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, as saying.

Russia has been involved militarily in Syria to support Assad since September last year, and will discuss Erdogan's statement during Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's upcoming visit to Ankara.

Lavrov is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on December 1.

In another development, Syrian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said Erdogan's statement on Assad confirms Damascus' assertion of Turkish aggression in Syria, Sputnik news agency reported.

"Erdogan's statement about the goals of Turkish aggression in Syria put an end to his lies and clearly reveals that Turkish aggression on Syrian territory is nothing more than a result of ambitions and illusions," he said.

--IANS

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