Russian defense minister seeks to harmonize activities in Syria at meeting with Turkish counterpart

ANKARA, February 11. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu plans to harmonize Russia’s activities in Syria with Turkey during his working visit to Ankara, as he himself said at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Monday. "Thank you for the warm welcome in Ankara. I hope that ahead of the Sochi meeting between the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran, we will be able to harmonize our activities in Syria," Shoigu said, addressing Akar. The Russian defense minister pointed out that Russian and Turkish military experts had worked hard in Moscow on January 31 to February 2, "trying to harmonize our approaches to ways to stabilize the situation in the Idlib zone and issues concerning the eastern bank of the Euphrates River." "I hope that today we will reach agreements on the most important matters," Shoigu added. Hulusi Akar, in turn, noted that the two countries’ activities were "very valuable." "We believe that we are contributing much to regional developments. And we are confident that we are also contributing to ensuring global peace," he said. According to the Turkish defense minister, Monday’s meeting was a continuation of meetings held in Moscow earlier. Read more