Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he expects a different approach from Russia on Syria.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime “poses a threat to the south of Turkey,” stressed Erdogan, adding that he will discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Sochi on September 29.
“As a friend to Russia, I expect from Putin and Russia a different approach as a requirement of solidarity,” Erdogan told reporters on Friday.
“We need to fight this together in the south,” he added.
“We will discuss bilateral ties and the latest developments in Syria’s Idlib,” Erdogan said in press statements on Thursday during his participation in the 76th UN General Assembly meetings.
Erdogan also accused US President Joe Biden’s administration of transferring weapons, ammunition and equipment to the “terrorist organizations” in Syria, in reference to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Alliance (SDF), Washington’s ally.
He stressed his country would not stand idle.
Turkey considers the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group, which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. The PKK is considered a terrorist group by the European Union, Turkey and the United States.
