MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has received a Russian delegation, including Russia’s special representative for the Syrian settlement, Alexander Lavrentyev and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, the Syrian presidential office tweeted on Friday.
The situation in Syria and Turkey’s operation in the northeast of the country was discussed.
"At the current phase it is necessary to focus on putting an end to aggression and on the pullout of all Turkish, US and other forces illegally present in Syrian territories," Assad stated. During the meeting the Russian side expressed commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity, the statement said.
On October 9, Ankara launched an operation codenamed Peace Spring in northern Syria with the aim to create a buffer zone there that would provide protection for the Turkish border and where Syrian refugees might return from Turkey. Damascus slammed the operation as an act of aggression. On October 17, the United States and Turkey held talks in Ankara to achieve agreement to temporarily halt combat operations in northern Syria. Turkey agreed to cease fire for 120 hours to let the Kurdish units, affiliated with the coalition Syrian Democratic Forces, leave the border security zone Ankara is creating.