Russian, Jordanian FMs meet in Moscow for talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

Russia sees Turkey's plan for a new military operation in Syria as aiming to eradicate terrorism and restore Syria's sovereignty, Russia’s foreign minister said Friday.

Ankara's plans will be discussed at a meeting including both countries' foreign and defense ministers set for Saturday in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov told an impromptu press conference after his meeting with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in the Russian capital.

"We see Ankara's plans to carry out additional anti-terrorist actions in northeastern Syria from the standpoint of eradicating terrorism and restoring Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Lavrov.

Turkish leaders have said a counter-terrorist operation east of the Euphrates River in Syria targeting the YPG/PKK terror group is coming soon. It would follow two successful Turkish counter-terrorist ops in Syria since 2016.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said contacts between Russian and Turkish officials are meant "to bring full clarity and synchronize actions and understanding on further development of the situation in Syria."

Presidential aides will assist the meeting of the Russian and Turkish foreign and defense ministers to see if leaders of the two countries need to meet on this issue, he said.

Lavrov on Friday hosted his Jordanian counterpart in the capital Moscow for talks on Syria and the Palestine-Israel dispute.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week made the surprise announcement that the U.S. would withdraw its troops from Syria. His decision followed a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which the two leaders agreed on the need for more effective coordination over the civil war-torn country.

Russia has welcomed Trump's announcement, as did Erdogan, who said the U.S. had "done its part."

The two top diplomats also discussed the Palestinian-Israeli issue, including U.S. statements on the preparation of the so-called "deal of the century" -- an alleged back-channel U.S. plan to decisively settle the perennial dispute, and U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.