Turkey Counts on Russian Partnership in Resolving Syrian Crisis - FM

Turkey and Russia should cooperate toward the common goal of stabilizing Syria and restoring its territorial integrity, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – Sinirlioglu noted the countries' differing approaches toward Syrian President Bashar Assad as a major sticking point between Moscow and Ankara on settling the Syrian crisis. Russia has long asserted that a decision on Assad’s fate rests solely with the Syrian population.

"Lavrov and I put aside our differences and agreed that we should work together to take steps to ensure the unity, territorial integrity and stability in Syria," Sinirlioglu told Anadolu Agency late on Thursday.

"We have differences of opinion but I believe that we can meet at a point about the targets, because we are agreed on the importance that we attach to Syria’s stability," he underscored.

Sinirlioglu met Lavrov in the Russian resort city of Sochi to discuss the Syrian civil war that had left up to a quarter of a million people dead and millions more displaced since it began four years ago.

A possible solution to the Syrian conflict inched closer on Friday, when US State Secretary John Kerry said the United States was ready to engage in military-to-military talks with Russia on the subject.