ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that it was necessary for the Kremlin to eliminate Kurdish forces from northern Syria as it was a priority of Ankara.
The Turkish president has been threatening to start a new incursion into northern Syria to clear the area from Kurdish forces he blames for a November explosion that claimed six lives in Istanbul.
Ankara and Moscow sealed an agreement in 2019 that ended another operation by setting up a thirty kilometers safe zone to protect Turkiye against cross-border attacks from Syria.
Turkiye wants to eliminate Kurdish forces from areas under Russian control
But Erdogan accuses Russia of failing to act through the deal. Some Kurdish fighters are stationed in areas under the control of Moscow and Turkiye wanted to eliminate them.
Russia confirmed the 2019 deal was discussed in the call. It said that foreign and defense services will maintain contacts in this regard.
Both Washington and Moscow have been pressuring Ankara not to start a new ground operation.
Turkiye has been targeting Kurdish positions along the border with drone strikes and artillery fire since 20 November in retaliation to the Istanbul explosion. However, Kurdish fighters denied their involvement in the bomb attack. –APP/AFP
