Russian Foreign and Defense Ministers Visit Turkey... Discuss Syria and Libya Issues

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported that Russia's Foreign Minister and Defense Minister plan to visit Turkey to discuss the situations in Syria and Libya. As both countries support opposing forces in Syria and Libya, they are believed to have entered discussions amid the renewed escalation of armed conflicts in the two regions.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, on the 13th (local time), the Russian Foreign Ministry stated, "Following an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Russia's Foreign and Defense Ministers will arrive in Turkey on the 14th to discuss regional issues related to mutual understanding between the two countries." The regional issues related to mutual understanding are interpreted as referring to the situations in Syria and Libya. Earlier, the two leaders had a phone call on the 10th, cooperating on the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and discussing the situations in Syria and Libya.

Russia and Turkey support opposing forces in the Syrian and Libyan civil wars. In Syria, Russia supports the government forces led by President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey supports the rebel forces. Since the end of last year, the Syrian government forces have launched a full-scale offensive, pushing the rebels into the northwestern Idlib region bordering Turkey, and have engaged in direct clashes with Turkish troops deployed in Idlib to assist the rebels.

In Libya, Turkey supports the UN-recognized legitimate government, the Government of National Accord (GNA), while Russia supports the eastern militia force, the Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA, which controls the eastern oil fields, has been advancing toward the capital Tripoli, governed by the GNA, since April last year, using military force. With Turkey's assistance, the GNA is reported to have recently repelled the LNA's offensive and launched a counterattack.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.