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Russian-rebel talks resume as Erdogan backs down on Assad

Talks between Russia and Syrian rebels were reportedly derailed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's contradictory statements on Syria, but they have apparently resumed after he and the Russian president spoke on the phone and Erdogan publicly declared that Turkey is only targeting terrorist organizations in northern Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Druzhinin via REUTERS      ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSRO2X

Conflicting statements from Turkey’s president about the country’s ill-fated Syria policy have apparently disrupted secret talks between Syrian opposition rebels and Russia that are being brokered by his own government. The Financial Times reported today that negotiations over an Aleppo cease-fire were derailed after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey’s sole purpose in sending its troops to Syria were to overthrow the country’s President Bashar al-Assad.

The talks apparently resumed only after Erdogan and Putin spoke on the phone on Nov. 30. On the same day, Erdogan publicly declared that the target of the Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria was "not a particular country or individual" but "solely terrorist organizations."

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