Turkey 'watching closely' Russian troop movements on border
- 8 years ago
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday expressed alarm over reports of a build-up of Russian troops in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
"We have said this from the beginning: we won't tolerate such formations (in northern Syria) along the area stretching from the Iraqi border up to the Mediterranean," Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
"We maintain our sensitivities on this issue," said Erdogan, citing reports that Russia had deployed some 200 soldiers and adding he would raise the issue Saturday in talks with visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.
Russia's reported move into Qamishli comes as Ankara and Moscow are experiencing their biggest crisis in years over the shooting down of a Russian war plane by Turkey on November 24.
"We have said this from the beginning: we won't tolerate such formations (in northern Syria) along the area stretching from the Iraqi border up to the Mediterranean," Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
"We maintain our sensitivities on this issue," said Erdogan, citing reports that Russia had deployed some 200 soldiers and adding he would raise the issue Saturday in talks with visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.
Russia's reported move into Qamishli comes as Ankara and Moscow are experiencing their biggest crisis in years over the shooting down of a Russian war plane by Turkey on November 24.