Putin: Russia knew about Turkey's operations in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that sending Turkish troops to Syria was not a surprise for Russia. He stated this after the G20 Summit in Hangzhou.
“As for the surprises, we’ve got the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and special services for such cases, to have fewer surprises. In principle, we understood what was happening, and where it all led. Everything is visible: movements, aspirations, even the problems happening in the very same Turkey due to the events in Syria are visible,” Putin said, adding that Russia does not welcome actions that are contrary to the norms and principles of international law.
In addition, Putin said that relations between Russia and Turkey are gradually improving, though not as fast as the Turkish side would like. “With regard to the restoration of our bilateral relations, the work is being done, proceeding according to plan, not as fast as our Turkish partners would like. We also would probably like to make it all quicker. Breaking something is always fast, but recovering usually takes more time; it requires specific procedures relating to the decisions of the government and to the work of our phytosanitary [pertaining to the health of plants, particularly for international trade] institutions,” Putin explained.
Earlier, the Russian leader said that Russia and Turkey still had much to do “to restore full-format cooperation in all areas.” According to Putin, Turkey is having a difficult time fighting against terrorism and facing serious terrorist threats.