The Turkish government will send a high-level team to Russia on Dec. 29 to discuss and coordinate the aftereffects of the United States’ withdrawal from Syria, running in parallel with Ankara-Washington contacts to the same end, a senior ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) official has said. Reports Hurriyet.
The team will include Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and presidential advisor İbrahim Kalın.
“The delegation will travel to Russia on Saturday. It will hold talks on Syria. In line with the results of these talks, a phone conversation [between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin] may be held. Another program for a face-to-face meeting with Putin will also be planned,” AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik told reporters late Dec. 26.
At a press conference on Dec. 25, Çavuşoğlu spoke about Ankara’s intention to get in coordination with Russia upon instructions by Erdoğan after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly decided to pull out all U.S. troops from Syria.