Erdoğan: Turkey expect Russia’s support in the fight against the PKK, PYD and YPG

Baku. 24 September. REPORT.AZ / "The opposition will  stay in the occupied territories in the Syrian Idlib," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote in his article on Turkish-Russian relations, published in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Report informs.

"We will prevent the radical groups which we will identify together with Russia from acting in this region," the article says.

The Turkish head of state recalled that an important agreement was reached on preventing a possible new humanitarian crisis in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the talks in Sochi.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey prioritized civilians, the preservation of deescalation zones and protecting moderate opposition groups since the beginning of the Idlib issue.

In the article, Erdogan expressed that Turkey would not allow the presence of terror groups on its border with Syria saying, in particular, Ankara has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to ' Afrīn, Jerablus, al Bab and in the region of Idlib

“We expect Russia to support Turkey in its efforts against terror groups, particularly the PKK, PYD and YPG,” he said.. Erdogan went on to say that countries sharing the same region must have a common understanding about each other’s security.

According to him, the opposition's involvement was needed to carry out the agenda in the Geneva and Astana talks in a healthy way, he said, referring to previous agreements in Syria by the UN, and Turkey, Russia and Iran, respectively.

“I believe Turkish and Russian people … should be in a deep, sincere and close relationship. I want to emphasize that we will always support efforts to this end," he added.