ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th October, 2019) Ankara warned Russia of plans to launch the military offensive in Syria the day before it started, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
"We had phone talks with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov the day before the operation started. We warned them of everything. We have no contacts with the [Syrian] regime. But there is communication at the level of the military, intelligence ... Russia and Iran act as guarantors [of the Syrian settlement]," Cavusoglu said in an interview to CNN Turk.
The foreign minister added that Ankara's position that a direct dialogue with Syrian President Bashar Assad was impossible remained unchanged.
On Wednesday, Turkey started Operation Peace Spring against Kurdish fighters as well as the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) to neutralize alleged terror threats against Turkey and establish a safe zone.
The Turkish offensive in northern Syria has been condemned as aggression by Damascus. Russia has called on Turkey to assess the situation in order not to hamper earlier efforts to settle the Syrian crisis.
The operation has also been met with criticism from regional countries and blocs, including the Arab League, and Western states, including European Union members.
