Turkey sends top delegation to Russia to talk Syria
Ankara is looking to negotiate with Moscow over its proposed intervention in northern Syria.
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey is going to negotiate with Russia over whether it can march into northern Syria to crush the Kurdish militia as soon as the United States has completed its withdrawal. Russia holds that when the Americans leave, northern Syria should return to the control of the government in Damascus.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, national intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and presidential adviser Ibrahim Kalin will fly to Moscow on Saturday to discuss the issue with their Russian counterparts, Turkish media reported today.
Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin are expected to meet at a later date, presumably to finalize the issue, NTV reported.
Erdogan has said repeatedly that Turkish forces and their Syrian Arab allies will cross into Syria to clear the militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) from the north-central town of Manbij and the northeast region of Hasakah-Qamishli.
