Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to discuss the creation of a buffer zone in Syria at the meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said at a briefing.
"We have been for a long time pointing to the need to create a buffer zone to ensure the security of refugees but our initiative was not supported. We will continue to maintain contacts on the issue with our Russian partners. Presidents Erdogan and Putin will discuss it in Russia on January 23," TASS cited the spokesman as saying.
According to Aksoy, Ankara also "continues technical talks with Washington on the issue, which involve military and civilian officials."
Erdogan announced plans to create a buffer zone in northern Syria following a conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday. According to Erdogan, Turkey is ready to ensure security on the ground, while the U.S. is supposed to be responsible for the airspace. However, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said later that if a buffer zone was established, Ankara would have control of it.
