UPDATES DETAILS ON MEETING
ANKARA (AA) – Russia’s top general arrived in Ankara for the first time in 11 years on Thursday, according to a Turkish military source.
A closed-door meeting between Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Gen. Valery Gerasimov took place at the General Staff Headquarters in Ankara.
The source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media said the visit by the Russian army chief was “positive” and “fruitful”.
The same source said the meeting would pave the way for boosting cooperation between the two armies.
The visit bore importance in terms of bringing a “joint perspective” on problematic areas in the Middle East, the source added.
Although Russia is one of the main backers of Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad while NATO member Turkey backs opposition forces such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), both sides are targeting Daesh terror group in Syria.
Relations between Ankara and Moscow have been repaired since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over the Syrian border in November last year for violating Turkish airspace, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 9 in St. Petersburg and Russia lifting sanctions against Turkey and restoring economic ties.
