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Putin and Erdogan push for Syria talks without US or UN
16 Dec 2016 - 22:45
https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/artic...Erdogan-push-for-Syria-talks-without-US-or-UN
Protesters shout anti-Iran slogans and hold placards in front of the Iranian embassy in Istanbul yesterday, against Iranian involvement in the siege of Aleppo.
Reuters
Moscow/Istanbul: President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations.
In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear yesterday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace talks, if they happened, would be in addition to intermittent UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva.
“The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria,” Putin said in Tokyo. “We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey.”
The surprise move underlines the growing strength of Moscow’s rapprochement with Ankara, with which it fell out last year over the shooting down of a Russian plane, and reflects Russia’s desire to cement its growing influence in the Middle East and more widely.
Turkey, which wants to boost its global sway too, is also deeply frustrated by US policy in Syria, particularly Washington’s support for Kurdish militia fighters it sees as a hostile force, and by what it views as Barack Obama’s failure to give enough support to the rebels.
16 Dec 2016 - 22:45
https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/artic...Erdogan-push-for-Syria-talks-without-US-or-UN
Protesters shout anti-Iran slogans and hold placards in front of the Iranian embassy in Istanbul yesterday, against Iranian involvement in the siege of Aleppo.
Reuters
Moscow/Istanbul: President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations.
In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear yesterday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace talks, if they happened, would be in addition to intermittent UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva.
“The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria,” Putin said in Tokyo. “We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey.”
The surprise move underlines the growing strength of Moscow’s rapprochement with Ankara, with which it fell out last year over the shooting down of a Russian plane, and reflects Russia’s desire to cement its growing influence in the Middle East and more widely.
Turkey, which wants to boost its global sway too, is also deeply frustrated by US policy in Syria, particularly Washington’s support for Kurdish militia fighters it sees as a hostile force, and by what it views as Barack Obama’s failure to give enough support to the rebels.