A Russian military delegation will travel to Ankara this week to pressure Turkey into respecting Syria’s sovereignty, Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov revealed on Monday.
"The Russian military has a clear goal of guaranteeing Syria’s sovereignty and demanding that Turkey respect it unconditionally," Ivashov said.
He said the delegation will take a tough line in the negotiations with the Turkish military. Russia and Turkey used to be partners in political talks on Syria but never evolved into military allies, he noted.
The military talks follow a summit in Moscow last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan. It led to a ceasefire in Idlib and an agreement to jointly patrol a major Syrian highway running along the border with Turkey.
