Al-Assad hindering Ankara's attempts to establish itself as only regional leader - Kosachyov
MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Turkey should realize that the possibility of toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by external efforts is gone, Federation Council International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said.
"The possibility of toppling al-Assad by external means is definitely gone. The West is well aware of that, and Turkey should come to understand this sooner or later," Kosachyov told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The sooner this [understanding] happens, the easier it will be for everyone to interact in fighting the terrorist threat in Syria's territory and, consequentially, in assisting the launch of real political reforms in that country," Kosachyov said.
He commented on the statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said on Tuesday that the Turkish army had begun a military operation in Syria in order to put an end to the Bashar al-Assad regime.
This statement is another proof that Turkey is pursuing its own goals in Syria, and they are far from always coinciding with the tasks of deterring international terrorism in Syria, which is the Russian view on the situation, he said.
"It seems the primary objective of Turkey is to establish itself as the sole regional leader and to resolve the Kurdish problem. Al-Assad is the obstacle in both cases," Kosachyov said.
Any attempts to weaken Damascus will play into the hands of the supporters of further destabilization in Syria, like that happened in Iraq and Libya, he said.