ANKARA, October 9. /TASS/. Turkey should not lose relations with Russia for the sake of political interests in Syria, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told Anadolu Agency on Friday.
"Turkey should not lose relations with Russia for the sake of any political advantages in Syria. Turkey and Russia have been living in peace for years. The two countries have very strong political, economic and trade relations. But Turkey is a country that will defend its borders. That is why we expect that Russia retreats and stops violating our borders if it says it was done by mistake," he said.
Touching on Russia’s air operation in Syria, the Turkish deputy prime minister said it "will only aggravate the situation and add to the chaos." He said from the very beginning of the Syrian crisis various groups seeking to either realize their political might or demonstrate force directly or indirectly impacted the situation. "Russia’s interference into the conflict does not promote peace in Syria," he said.
"War in Syria is impacting not only that country but also Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon. We urge both Russia and the international community to immediately stop interfering into the situation in Syria and create an international anti-terrorist platform," he said.
Russia’s aerospace forces launched pinpoint strikes against the Islamic State targets in Syria on September 30. The Russian air group in Syria comprises more than 50 warplanes and helicopters, including Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-34. According to Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, air strikes are delivered at military hardware, communications centres, transport vehicles, munitions depots and other terrorist infrastructure facilities. The military operation is conducted at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.