Al-Watan: Turkey has agreed to withdraw troops from Syria

Following a trilateral meeting of the heads of the defense ministries of Russia, Syria and Turkey, Ankara agreed to withdraw its troops from Syria, stated Syrian newspaper El Watan, citing a source.

“According to the results of a trilateral meeting in Moscow with the participation of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and General Ali Mahmoud Abbas in the presence of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, it was concluded that Turkey agreed to a complete withdrawal of troops from Syria,” the newspaper writes.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, Turkey intends to leave the territory in the north of the republic. Ankara, as noted, confirmed “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.” The negotiators also confirmed that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militia are “puppets of the United States and Israel and pose the greatest danger to Syria and Turkey.”

Akar after talks in Moscow declaredthat terrorist organizations control almost a third of the territory of Syria and indicated the reason for the presence of Turkish troops in the republic, writes Sabah.

“We have clarified that the Turkish military is in Syria to fight the PKK, Kurdish YPG, ISIS (designated terrorist and banned in Russia) and other terrorists and to prevent mass migration,” Akar said.

Trilateral talks between the heads of the defense ministries of the three countries passed In Moscow on December 28, in parallel, a meeting was held between the heads of intelligence – the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin, the head of the Turkish intelligence department Hakan Fidan and the head of the Syrian military intelligence department Rafik Shahad.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted the constructive nature of the meetings and announced the need to continue interaction in this format in the interests of further stabilizing the situation in Syria.

The press service of the Turkish Defense Ministry reported on its website that the meeting discussed “the Syrian crisis, the problem of refugees and joint efforts to combat all terrorist organizations in Syria.” Ankara considers the formation of the Syrian Kurds SDF / YPG to be a terrorist organization, which, in its opinion, are associated with the PKK, recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey. Since mid-November, the Turkish Air Force has been conducting airstrikes on targets in territories controlled by the Syrian Kurds.