Russian & Turkish chiefs of General Staff – meeting in Moscow
November 2, 2016
Russia’s and Turkey’s chiefs of General Staffs met in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Syria, as well as other issues, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Press and Information Department said. General Valery Gerasimov and General Hulusi Akar spoke about the situation in the city of Aleppo and the military operation against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Mosul, Iraq. Gerasimov briefed his counterpart on efforts being made to improve the humanitarian situation in Aleppo, and the urgent need to separate the ‘moderate’ Syrian opposition from the Al-Nusra Front forces there was noted. The Russian and Turkish militaries plan to maintain contacts, including at the expert level. In September 15 (Ankara meeting), the two general staffs agreed to set up communication channels and a direct hotline between the militaries.