MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russia will play the role of a go-between in implementing the terms of the Adana Pact between Ankara and Damascus, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a meeting with the editors of the Anadolu news agency.
"The Adana Pact is in force. But the problem is even if the Syrian authorities have the wish to implement it, they lack the ability to do so. In a situation like this Russia will undertake to play the role of a go-between and promote its implementation," he said. Cavusoglu explained that Damascus lacked control of a large territory and the resources to establish it.
At the same time he remarked that no direct contacts existed between Ankara and Damascus at the moment.
Cavusoglu recalled that the Adana Pact was concluded (in 1998 — TASS) for protecting Turkey from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (KWP, declared as a terrorist organization by Ankara) and preventing its attacks against Turkish territory.
"If Syria is unable to prevent this, Turkey will take the necessary measures on its own," he said.
The Adana Pact allowed Turkey to chase KWP forces up to five kilometers into the Syrian territory. Those agreements were particularly crucial when KWP leader Abdullah Ocalan took refuge in Syria.
Ankara and Moscow on Tuesday agreed to give the Kurdish Self-Defense Forces 150 hours as of October 23 to pull out from the 30-kilometer zone along the border with Turkey. The memorandum confirms the importance of the Adana Pact. It says that Russia will promote the implementation of these agreements.