Cavusoglu: Russian-Turkish dialogue on Syria very important

Ankara is in talks with Moscow on disputes over crisis settlement approaches in Syria, including over the fate of President Bashar Assad, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 broadcaster.

"First of all, both countries are making efforts to ensure a cessation of hostilities. We are negotiating on a bilateral level as well as within international friends of Syria organizations," Sputnik cited him as saying.

He reiterated that the two countries agree that they favor a political solution to conflict settlement over the military track. Russia and Turkey differ substantially on the principles of separating the opposition from terrorists in Syria, Cavusoglu said. 

"We have differences over the fact on what basis they need to be separated. First, the bombing needs to stop to ensure a ceasefire, then a reasonable timeframe should be provided," he said, stressing that the Russian-Turkish dialogue on Syria is very important.