The Kremlin does not agree with the opinion that Russia's operation in Syria will negatively affect relations with Turkey, since the interaction between the two countries is built on a solid foundation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Bilateral relations with Turkey are very complex and have quite a solid foundation in terms of mutually beneficial relations," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.
Peskov reiterated that the Russian ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Turkey for a strong protest over an alleged violation of Turkish airspace by a Russian warplane on October 3rd.
Peskov said that nothing has been scheduled for a meeting between Putin and Erdogan but the heads of state will certainly meet in the future. "Right now the answer is no. This will be coordinated through diplomatic channels," he said.
"Of course, such meetings could be planned in theory. But but there is nothing on the agenda for the immediate future," the spokesman stressed.
Political scientist Orhan Gafarli, in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, stressed the need for ongoing dialogue between Turkey and Russia to ensure mutual understanding on the Syrian issue. "Speaking about the Turkish attitude towards the Russian operation in Turkey, I should note that there are people who criticize the policies of the current government of Syria, and there are people who believe that it is the right policy," he said.
"Russia and Turkey have many differences on Syria. Ankara has the requirement of the legitimate resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, while Moscow wants a transition period with Assad, after which Syrians will choose a new governor in elections, in which the opposition will also take part. The diplomats of the two countries require constant dialogue – as far as I can see, neither the Russian nor the Turkish sides fully understand each other's positions. The sides can overcome such misunderstanding only by means of regular dialogue," the expert noted.
Gafarli confirmed that Turkey considers the messages about the Russian aviation bombings on the armed Syrian opposition to be real. "There is a lot of information on this issue. Russia is fighting Islamic State, but sometimes Russian planes bombarded locations of the opposition. In this regard, Turkey believes that Russia must not treat the armed opposition as terrorists," the analyst said.
"President Erdogan has said several times that he should meet with the Russian president. I'm sure that in November when the G20 will meet in Antalya, they will discuss the Syrian issue and misunderstandings will be eliminated," Orhan Gafarli stressed.
The political analyst Hakan Aksay, in his turn, said that the cautious stance of Ankara against the Russian military operation is due to the strengthening of Bashar Assad's positions. "For Erdogan, the inability to topple Assad is the collapse of the Turkish foreign policy towards Syria," he said.
According to Aksay, the Russian military operation by Turkey is seen as strengthening of the Russian positions in the Middle East in general and assistance to Assad. "The overthrow of the Assad regime, who has already spent a lot of energy and is in a weak position today, would mean a dangerous approach of the 'Arab Spring' to the Russian borders in the South Caucasus. So, naturally, Russia has launched an operation against IS and other radical groups. What will happen after the bombings? Will Assad's army end the war with Hezbollah's or Iran's help? These are questions to which I have no answer today," the analyst noted.
He also said that today the priority of the Turkish authorities is the "fight against the Kurds, but not the fight against Islamic radicals." "Ankara said that it is against radical extremist terrorists, but in fact, I could not see a half of this sentence," Hakan Aksay suggested.
