Efforts against terror groups will continue in Syria's Idlib - Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday efforts against terrorist organisations in Syria’s Idlib will continue.

“Our joint fight against terrorist organisations in Syria's Idlib will continue,” Erdogan said in a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Last September, following a meeting between Erdogan and Putin, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib are to remain in areas where they are already present, while Russia and Turkey conduct joint patrols in the area to prevent renewed fighting.

TRT World's Hasan Abdullah reports from Moscow.

The Turkish president stressed the necessity of a joint fight against terror groups, which he said, are aiming to undermine Turkey-Russian cooperation.

“It is critically important that a vacuum during the US withdrawal [from Syria], which can be exploited by terrorists, doesn't form, Erdogan went on to say.

Prior to his visit, an article penned by Erdogan titled "Turkey-Russia cooperation critical for resolving the crisis in Syria" was published in Russian daily Kommersant last week.

"We will not seek advice on how to deal with a terrorist group from anyone whose activities have been directed against our citizens for more than 30 years or ask for permission to fight terrorism," referring to the internationally-recognised terror group PKK’s Syrian branch the YPG, Erdogan wrote in the article.

Erdogan arrived in Moscow earlier on Wednesday to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the first face-to-face meeting of 2019 between both leaders.

Syrian constitutional committee

Commenting on the Syrian political process, Putin said at the joint news conference that Russia and Turkey have a position to achieve a solution to the Syrian crisis via political and diplomatic means.

He lamented that Germany, France and the UK tried to influence the decision of the UN secretary general regarding the establishment of the Syrian constitutional committee.

Putin noted that the three countries sent to Antonio Guterres a letter in which they asked him to tell then UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to not approve the list of candidates for the committee presented by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

“Let me remind you that Russian and Turkish diplomats, in close contact with their Iranian colleagues, have carried out serious work on the composition of this committee and have fulfilled all the agreements reached in Istanbul with the French and German sides,” he asserted.

“Alas, it was not possible to form a constitutional committee until the end of last year. However, our efforts have created a solid and balanced basis for a sustainable and viable political settlement process,” the Russian president said.

25 meetings between Erdogan and Putin in 2018

Wednesday was Erdogan and Putin's first face-to-face meeting of 2019.

Putin said the regular meetings between the two countries yield “positive results.”

Another trilateral summit between Moscow, Ankara and Tehran on Syria will be held in Russia in the “nearest future,” Putin said.

“Mr President [Erdogan] and I have already agreed on an approximate date, and we will need to coordinate with our Iranian partners [in this regard],” he said.

Erdogan and Putin had seven one-on-one meetings in 2018 and 18 phone calls to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, especially Syria.

The leaders first met in the Turkish capital Ankara, where they chaired the Turkey-Russia High-Level Cooperation Council meeting on April 3, a day before a trilateral summit on Syria between the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran.

During the trilateral summit on April 4, Erdogan, Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed their joint resolve to oppose separatism as well as the use of terrorism as an excuse for changing Syria.