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Neither Syria nor Russia attacked Turkish soldiers: Lavrov

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Neither Syria nor Russia attacked Turkish soldiers in northern Syria on Nov. 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here on Thursday.

"We don't want a reputation for these sort of incidents. It's essential to discuss this issue with the U.S. and other institutions," Lavrov told a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Turkey's Mediterranean town of Alanya.

Four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded in the Nov. 24 airstrike in northern Syria.

The soldiers were there as part of Turkey's "Operation Euphrates Shield," which also involves Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

Cavusoglu, for his part, said both Turkey and Russia agreed on the need for a ceasefire in Aleppo, humanitarian aid and a political transition.

"A ceasefire must be achieved in all of Syria, notably in Aleppo," Cavusoglu said, adding that Turkey's stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains unchanged.

Ankara wants the ouster of Assad.

Lavrov and Cavusoglu were in Alanya for a fifth session of the Russian-Turkish Joint Strategic Planning Group meeting, which may pave the way for Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's visit to Russia this month.

This was Lavrov's first working visit to Turkey after the normalization of Russian-Turkish relations, which had been strained following the downing of a Russian warplane on Nov. 24, 2015. Endit