ISTANBUL (AP) December,11– Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he requested a 30-kilometer security corridor on the Turkish-Syrian border, Erdogan’s office said. said on Sunday.
Erdoğan reiterated the “importance and urgency” of creating a corridor in northern Syria under a 2019 agreement between Turkey and Russia, referring to Kurdish militants whom the Turkish government considers terrorists. added the statement.
The call came three weeks after Turkey began airstrikes and shelling in Syria and Iraq in response to the Nov. 13 bombings in Istanbul that killed six and injured dozens. It was conducted. The Turkish government has accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian branch of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) of carrying out the bombing. Both groups have denied any involvement in the attack.
The PKK rebelled against Turkey for 38 years and tens of thousands of lives were lost. It has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. However, the YPG is not considered a terrorist group by Washington or the EU and is spearheading the US-led battle against the Islamic State group in Syria.
Erdoğan has threatened to pursue attacks on northern Syria with ground attacks. A planned Turkish invasion earlier this year was called off amid opposition from the United States and Russia, which have military bases in the region.
As part of an agreement signed with Turkey in 2019, Russia pledged to set up a buffer zone between Turkey’s border and YPG forces. It will be administered by the Syrian Army and the Russian Military Police. Both Russian and Syrian government forces, as well as some US forces, are present in the border areas, but the agreement has not been fully implemented.
Moscow, a major supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has worked closely with Turkey in northern Syria in the past and has pushed for reconciliation between Turkey and Damascus in recent months.
The phone call between Erdogan and Putin follows talks on the situation in Syria when Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin visited Turkey this week. The Kremlin said in a phone call readout that “close contact” would be maintained between the Russian and Turkish defense and foreign ministries.
The two presidents also discussed energy. Russia has offered to make Turkey a hub for its natural gas sales. They also discussed an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to secure Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports.
Erdogan told Putin that the deal could be gradually expanded to “various food and other commodities”, without elaborating.
Moscow said the deal “needs to remove barriers to relevant supplies from Russia to meet the needs of countries most in need.” Russia complains that exports of its grain and fertilizers are being hampered by sanctions on ships and banks.
