Putin refuses, Erdogan still determined to visit Russia
(Baonghean.vn) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Russia on March 5. This is the information announced by the President's Office on March 2.
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| Russian and Turkish forces patrol together in an area near the Syrian border. Source: AP |
Just last week, Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no intention of going to Istanbul to discuss the current tense developments in the Idlib region of northwestern Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This statement came despite his Turkish counterpart expressing his desire for the two sides to hold talks on the issue.
In response to Russia's reaction, in the latest statement, the Office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country's leader is planning to visit Russia this Thursday (March 5).
Meanwhile, Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in another statement that the meeting, if it takes place, will be extremely difficult. However, both sides still affirmed that they will focus on resolving the situation in Idlib as well as complying with the terms of the Sochi ceasefire agreement reached by Russia and Türkiye in 2018.
In a separate statement yesterday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it could no longer guarantee the safety of Turkish aircraft flying over northern Syria, after Damascus decided to close the airspace over Idlib province. The move comes amid escalating tensions in Idlib last Thursday, after the Syrian army repelled a large-scale offensive by opposition factions in the area. The clashes have left 33 Turkish soldiers dead.
