According to Erdogan, both the Russian government and its allies in Iran are working towards not only de-stabilizing Syria, but the entire Middle East.
"Russia isn't fighting against Daesh (Islamic State). On the contrary, it's creating an environment for the establishment of a boutique Syria state around Latakia," Erdogan said, as quoted by Hurryiet.
Erdogan also accused Russia of not fighting Daesh, but using it as a pretext for a military operation in Syria. At the same time, Erdogan added that the real purpose of the Russian government is to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.
President Assad wants to keep Syria united within its current borders and free from Islamic extremism. Erdogan himself said that Moscow supports Assad, that much is true.
Now if Russia supports the current Syrian government then it obviously supports its actions as well, such as the fight against terrorists, including Daesh, and its wish to keep the country united and within its current borders.
The Russian government always said that it supported the legitimately elected Syrian government, whether it's Assad or no Assad. If peace were established in Syria and people democratically elected someone else, then Moscow said it would support the decision of the people of Syria.
Russia has been conducting pinpoint airstrikes in Syria against Daesh positions since September 30. The Russian anti-terrorist campaign began after the Syrian government requested help. By late December 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian planes completed over 5,200 sorties against Daesh targets in Syria.
Also in September, Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria established the Baghdad Information Center to coordinate efforts in the fight against the Daesh. The aim of the center is to collect, process, summarize and analyze current data about the Middle East in the context of the fight against Daesh. Not too bad for Russia that according to Erdogan "isn't fighting Daesh."
