Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
Syria is strategically important for Russia and Russia does not want to lose its positions in the country, Yusuf Cinar, the president of the Turkish International Research Center Strategic Outlook, told Trend Sept. 21.
The expert believes that Turkey will fail to convince Russia to change its point of view on the Syrian issue.
The armed conflict that has been continuing in Syria since March 2011 has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to the UN data.
"Russia maintains Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, while Turkey is against the incumbent president," Cinar said.
"The largest military exercises in Russia testify to the fact that this country will not easily give up its ambitions in relation to Syria," he said. "Russia is persistent in this issue."
The expert said that Russia began acting together with Syria against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization.
"Russia plans new activities against the 'Islamic State' in order to help Bashar al-Assad stay in power," said the expert.
Turkey failed to persuade Russia to give up its interests in Syria during the previous negotiations, and it is unlikely that the country will be able to achieve that during the upcoming visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Moscow, he said.
"Turkey has no concrete plan for persuading Russia," Cinar said. "However, the fight of the two countries against the 'Islamic State' will be even more effective."
Moreover, the expert doubts Russia's ability to significantly influence the policy pursued by Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit Russia Sept.23. During the visit, he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Edited by SI
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