Erdogan may try to put Zelenskyy at negotiating table because Russia assisted Turkey's talks with Syria  - International expert Semyvolos

Director of the Center for Middle East Studies Igor Semyvolos said this on Espreso.

"The Turks did not receive permission for ground operations in Syria from the United States and Russia. Without the use of aircraft, ground operation will be associated with heavy losses. Turkey continues negotiations and as an option, the Russians offered the Turks to contact Bashar al-Assad and jointly conduct a police operation," he said.

According to the expert, Assad did not want to do this for a long time, because he did not have guarantees from Turkey that they would leave the territory of Syria after the operation.

"It seems that he received such an agreement. Now they expect a meeting at the highest level between Assad and Erdogan. This event and the course of negotiations are sensational. Russia plays a key role is a fact. It is possible that Erdogan's attempt to put Zelenskyy at the negotiating table, to persuade him to start some kind of dialogue with Putin is precisely related to the agreements between Erdogan and Putin on Syria," Semyvolos concluded.