Turkey would not so easily have been able to carry out its military offensive in Syria without "positive developments" in its relations with Russia, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said.
"We could not have moved so comfortably in the Euphrates Shield operation if it weren't for the positive developments with Russia," Canikli told TGRT television.
But he said Turkey had not strayed from its "core policies" in Syria despite productive talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who have held a series of phone calls this week, Reuters reports.
