Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will mediate to resolve the situation in northern Syria.
Erdogan made the comment on Saturday ahead of a meeting with Putin in the southern Russian city of Sochi on Tuesday. Erdogan said the two leaders need to find a solution. But he also indicated that if they can't do that, Turkish forces will resume their offensive.
Russia has been deepening its ties with Turkey, Kurdish forces and the Syrian government since the United States withdrew its troops from northern Syria. Moscow is now mediating among the three parties. Turkey and the US agreed on Thursday that Ankara would suspend its military operation in northern Syria for five days. But some fighting continues there. Turkey and Kurdish forces are accusing each other of not halting attacks.
Turkey is aiming to remove Kurdish forces from a roughly 30-kilometer-wide Syrian border area and set up a "safe zone" there that would be controlled by Ankara.
NHK
