ISTANBUL
\nTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday that it was imperative the Kremlin \u201cclear\u201d Kurdish forces from northern Syria.
\nErdogan has been threatening to launch a new incursion into northern Syria to push out Kurdish forces he blames for a November bomb blast that killed six people in Istanbul.
\nA 2019 agreement between Moscow and Ankara ended another offensive by setting up a 30-kilometre (19-mile) \u201csafe zone\u201d to protect Turkey against cross-border attacks from Syrian territory.
\nErdogan accuses Russia \u2014 a key player in the Syria conflict which backs President Bashar al-Assad \u2014 of failing to follow through on the deal.
\nErdogan told Putin in a phone call it was \u201cimportant to clear the (Kurdish fighters) from the border to a depth of at least 30 kilometres,\u201d his office said. Erdogan stated it was a \u201cpriority\u201d, the Turkish presidency said.
\nSome of the Kurdish forces are stationed in areas under Russian military control.
\nOthers have been fighting with the United States against jihadists from the militant Islamic State group.
\nThe Kremlin confirmed the 2019 agreement was discussed in the call.
\n\u201cThe two countries\u2019 defence and foreign services will maintain close contacts in this regard,\u201d a Kremlin statement said.
\nBoth Moscow and Washington have been putting diplomatic pressure on Ankara not to launch a new ground campaign.
\nTurkey has been pummelling Kurdish positions near the border with artillery fire and drone strikes since Nov 20 in response to the bomb blast. But it has not yet poured in any major forces to support ones it already has stationed in the area. Kurdish groups deny involvement in the Istanbul attack.
\nBlack Sea grain deal
\nTurkish President Tayyip Erdogan also discussed the Black Sea grain export agreement on Sunday with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, as both sides seek changes that would boost their exports.
\nTurkey has acted as mediator alongside the United Nations in the grain deal, which opened up Ukrainian ports for exports after a six-month de facto Russian blockade.
\nMoscow is seeking better guarantees for its own food and fertiliser exports, while Kyiv wants the deal expanded to increase the number of Ukrainian ports it opens for shipping.
\nAfter his call with Putin, the Turkish presidency said Erdogan had called for a quick end to the conflict and said Moscow could start work on exporting more food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor.
\nRussia has urged the United Nations to push the West to lift some sanctions, to ensure Moscow can freely export its fertiliser and agricultural products \u2014 a part of the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow says has not been implemented.
\n\u201cThe deal is of complex character, which requires the removal of obstacles for the relevant supplies from Russia in order to meet the demands of the countries most in need,\u201d the Kremlin said in a statement.
\nZelenskiy said on Twitter he had \u201cdiscussed further work & possible expansion of the grain corridor\u201d with Erdogan.
\nUkraine and Russia are both among the world\u2019s largest grain producers and exporters. Russia\u2019s blockade of Ukrainian ports following its invasion threatened to cause a global food crisis earlier this year, which was mitigated by the Turkish-brokered deal that unblocked Ukrainian shipments at the end of July.
\nThe Kremlin said Erdogan and Putin also discussed a Russian proposal to create a base in Turkey for exports of Russian natural gas.
\nPutin suggested the idea in October as a means to redirect supplies from Russia\u2019s Nord Stream pipelines to Europe, damaged in explosions in September. Erdogan has supported the concept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday that it was imperative the Kremlin \u201cclear\u201d Kurdish forces from northern Syria. Erdogan has been threatening to launch a new incursion into northern Syria to push out Kurdish forces he blames for a November bomb blast that killed six people in Istanbul. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n