Erdoğan’s Telephone Diplomacy for Afrin
Click to read the article in Kurdish/Turkish
Ankara had heavy phone traffic after news came out yesterday (February 19) that the Syrian Army agreed with YPG and would be entering Afrin.
President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had telephone calls first with Russia President Vladimir Putin, then with Iran President Rouhani.
Sources from the presidency said that the call with Putin touched on "issues related to forming new observation points" in Idlib, one of the de-escalation zones agreed upon in the Astana process.
"A number of talks was agreed upon"
According to Russia's news agency TASS' report based on information from the Kremlin press service, " In discussing the situation in Syria, special attention was paid to ways of further enhancing cooperation in the Astana process."
"The readiness was confirmed for tight coordination of efforts by Russia, Turkey and Iran for the sake of achieving effective operation of the de-escalation zones and advancing the political process in line with the agreements achieved by the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi," the Kremlin's press service stated.
The parties to the call also noted "positive trends in Russia-Turkey cooperation" and agreed on a number of talks at different levels in the near future.
Erdoğan-Rouhani call
Erdoğan also had a phone call with Iran President Hassan Rouhani besides Putin. The meeting consisted of a thought exchange on the latest developments in the Syrian issue, primarily in Afrin and Idlib.
Kalın: Propoganda, but bargains too
Presidency Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın dismissed the claim that Syria President Bashar al-Assad had made a deal with YPG in Afrin as "propaganda, but this does not mean there are no secret bargains."
Kalın posted the following from his social media account:
"It is clear that news of an agreement between the regime and PYD/YPG regarding Afrin serves the purpose of propaganda. But this does not mean there are no secret and dirty bargains. No matter what anyone does, the Olive Branch offensive will continue with determination and reach its goal as planned." (PT/PU)