Turkish and Russian army chiefs meet in Moscow to discuss cooperation in Syria
The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, Valery Gerasimov, and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar met in Moscow to discuss cooperation in Syria, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, RIA Novosti reported.
"During the meeting, [the generals] discussed cooperation in the settlement of the Syrian conflict, including the normalization of the situation around the city of Aleppo,” the Russian Ministry of Defense announced in a statement.
Gersimov highlighted the need to separate extremist terrorist organizations, such as the so-called Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front, from the moderate opposition.
Russia and Turkey have been normalizing ties over the last several months. The relationship between Moscow and Ankara had been soured after a Turkish F-16 fighter shot down a Russian Su-24 frontline bomber over the Syrian-Turkish border in November of last year. Since June, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted a formal apology to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, relations between Ankara and Moscow have improved considerably.