Moscow and Doha divided over Assad’s legitimacy – Qatar FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today hosted Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtas for talks on the Syrian conflict and Moscow’s potential support for Kurdish groups fighting ISIS.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since a Russian jet was downed by Turkish forces last month.

Speaking about the Russian operation in Syria targeting Islamic State terrorists, Rudskoy said that since September 30, 5,240 sorties, including 145 by long-range aviation, had been performed.

“The Russians should speak to what they are doing, what they are hitting, what they are missing”, the official said.

During a meeting with lawmakers, the prime minister also condemned what he said were Russian air force strikes on Sunday on rebel-held Idlib.

Russia, which imposed economic sanctions on Turkey after the November 24 incident, and has sharply criticized President Tayyip Erdogan and would be keenly aware of the sensitivity of Ankara to any contacts between Moscow and Kurdish politicians.

“I will apologize if they [the government] can state a single benefit for Turkey in the downing of the Russian jet”, he said later in the day as he spoke at a news conference in İstanbul upon his return from Russia.

“From the very first days, we declared as an opposition party in the country, that we do not support the position of worsening relations with Russian Federation”, said Demirtas, who heads the second-biggest opposition party in Turkey’s parliament.

Russian Federation has promised retaliation after the downing of the Su-24 and demanded Turkey offer an apology and compensation.

“We know that there are Iraqi and Syrian Kurds among those who on the ground resist the threat from Islamic State and other extremist groups with weapons in their hands”, he said.

Davutoğlu also lashed out at the leader of another opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), in a controversy over alleged remarks by one of its deputies vowing to stand by Iran in a hypothetical war against Turkey and the deputy’s statement that Turkey was used as a transit point for sarin gas heading to ISIL in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday that Russia’s military campaign in Syria had largely targeted civilian sites and Syria’s moderate opposition.