Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a ceasefire in the de-escalation zone in Idleb is going well, and revealed that he has made a proposal to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, related to the oil fields in Deir ez-Zor.
Erdogan, in an interview while returning from the Belgian capital Brussels, said that the ceasefire was, “going well, even if it is temporary. I hope that this will continue and it will turn into a permanent ceasefire.”
He said that he had asked Putin to take part in managing oil fields in Deir ez-Zor in northeastern Syria rather than “terrorists” exploiting them. He said, “I proposed to Putin that if the economic support is given, we can set up infrastructure, and that through the oil extracted there, we can help destroyed Syria to stand on its feet.”
He said that Putin was considering the proposal, adding that he could make a similar proposal to American President Donald Trump.
Erdogan said that on Mar. 17, 2020, Istanbul would host a Turkish-European summit to discuss the issue of asylum-seekers and the recent developments in Idleb.
He said that he would meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Istanbul on Tuesday, and would possibly meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He said, “European leaders recognize that Turkey has carried out its duties with regard to the refugees after the March 18 deal (the deal around accepting the return of refugees) and that they have moved slowly in this regard.”
He said that there was joint Turkish-European work being done to overcome the slowness in implementing the migrant deal between the two sides, supervised by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the European Union High Representative for Foreign, Political and Security Affairs, Josep Borrell, adding, “We are waiting to reap the fruits of the first European summit on Mar. 26, 2020.”
Responding to a question about Russian media reports about scenes from routine protocol that showed Erdogan waiting for two minutes in the Kremlin before being received by his Russian counterpart, Erdogan said, “Turkish-Russian relations cannot be sacrificed to attempts to mislead the media.”
A number of activists on social media circulated a video of Erdogan and his accompanying delegation waiting to be received by Putin during the summit that brought together the two leaders on Mar. 5, 2020, in Moscow. Erdogan appeared to wait for a while, before moving to sit and showed signs of resentment.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
