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Turkey, Russia to set up commission to prevent incidents in Syria — source

Ankara is satisfied by the actions and statements of Russia’s authorities in connection with the incident, a source added

ANKARA, February 10. /TASS/. Turkey and Russia will create a commission after the incident with the death of Turkish troops in northern Syria with the goal of preventing similar situations in the future, a source in Turkey’s General Staff told TASS.

"No doubt, a commission will be formed after the incident. However, its goal will be to prevent such incidents in the future and enhance coordination of actions between our countries," the source said.

The relations of Turkey and Russia should develop positively as this is "important for both sides and from the viewpoint of ensuring peace in the (Middle East) region," the source added.

"We were very saddened by the death of our troops. We pray for the health of the wounded. We hope that nothing like that will happen again and our region will be soon cleaned from the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia)," he said.

Turkey satisfied by Russia’s stance on incident

Ankara is satisfied by the actions and statements of Russia’s authorities in connection with the incident with the death of Turkish troops in Syria, a source said.

"This incident certainly put both countries in a difficult situation. But from the very beginning the Turkish Armed Forces took a prudent position. The necessary contacts were held with the Russian side at the level of the president and the prime minister," the source said.

"The Turkish side was satisfied by the position that Russia took from the very beginning when the incident occurred," he said.

Turkey’s General Staff reported that three Turkish servicemen were killed in an unintentional airstrike by a Russian warplane in northern Syria on Thursday. According to the Turkish General Staff, the incident occurred at about 08:40 local time. One of the bombs accidently hit a building where Turkish servicemen were staying. As a result, three soldiers were killed and another eleven were wounded. The incident occurred near the town of al-Bab where the anti-terrorist operation Euphrates Shield was conducted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the tragic incident that caused the death of the Turkish servicemen.