Turkey dispatched its military chief to Moscow on Thursday, seeking approval for an air campaign in Syria's Kurdish-controlled Afrin region, although Syrian warned it could shoot down any Turkish planes in its skies.
Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov met on Thursday in Moscow with Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Director of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The discussion focused on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, including the implementation of existing agreements to ensure the operation of the de-escalation zones and the compliance with the ceasefire regime in those zones," the ministry said in a statement.
"In addition, the sides discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral military cooperation, as well as topical issues of ensuring security in the region," the statement said.
Diplomatic and military sources said the talks in Moscow were focused on the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) impending military intervention into Afrin, where a few hundred Russian military observers are also situated. As Turkey has no direct official contact with the Syrian government, it transmits its requests to use Syrian air space from Russia.
Their visit on Thursday comes as Turkey threatens to launch a military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin in northwest Syria. The Russian military is believed to have a presence in Afrin.
The U.S. State Department called on Turkey to focus on the fight against Islamic State militants and not take military action in Afrin.
