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Moscow awaits clarification from Ankara on Erdogan's Syria remarks: Kremlin

Xinhua, November 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia expected Ankara to clarify reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted the Turkish army to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

"We certainly hope that in the near future our Turkish partners present some clarification on this," TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Various media outlets on Tuesday quoted Erdogan as saying in Istanbul that Turkish troops entered Syria in August in order to put an end to the rule of Assad.

Erdogan's statement came as a surprise to Moscow, as it was in discord with his previous statements and in contradiction with Russia's understanding of the situation in Syria, said Peskov.

Russia has been involved militarily in Syria to support Assad since September 2015.

An opportunity for clarifications would come on Thursday when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov travels to Ankara for a meeting of the Turkish-Russian Joint Strategic Planning Group. Endi