Putin hails compromise with Turkey on Syria crisis

By Elena Teslova and Nilay Kar Onum

MOSCOW/ ISTANBUL (AA) - Moscow and Ankara have been able to reach a compromise to resolve the Syrian crisis despite dissidences on some matters, the Russian president said on Thursday.

Speaking during his traditional year-end press conference, which gathered over 2,000 journalists at the Moscow International Trade Center congress hall, Vladimir Putin said: "Although we do not agree on all matters, we can compromise [on Syria crisis].

“We see that our Turkish partners reach that compromise with us for the good of the situation in Syria, for the good of countering terrorism and for the benefit of strengthening our ties."

Iran, Russia, and Turkey on Tuesday gave the UN a list of possible members of a committee to revise Syria's constitution.

The committee will be formed in late-2018 or early-2019 and will give a fresh push to the peace process, he said.

However, Putin criticized the UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s “wait-and-see attitude” in forming a constitutional committee, saying, “It is hard to understand.”

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.

- Russia-Turkey relations

On Russian-Turkish relations, Putin said both countries are working to strengthen bilateral relations in different domains, including the fight against terrorism and the economy.

"Turkey pursues an independent international policy, we appreciate it very much, this creates predictability and stability of the relations.

“In this sense, the role of the Turkish president is great. We hope, this tendency will be continued under the further leadership of Mr. [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan," he said.

In regards to a question on the role of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Putin said Ataturk was an “outstanding figure” in the Turkish history and was a “great friend of Russia”.

“He cooperated with Russia and worked together with it. We appreciate that very much," he added.

- US pullout from Syria

The Russian president said the U.S. withdrawal of troops from civil war-torn Syria is a “possibility” but there have been “no concrete steps taken as yet.”

"Is the presence of US troops necessary there? No, it is not," he said.

Trump declared victory over Daesh in Syria on Wednesday, saying its defeat was the sole reason for the U.S. presence in the country.

Reports have suggested the U.S. forces would leave within 60 to 100 days.

The U.S. began its air campaign in Syria in 2014, deploying troops to the country to assist in the anti-Daesh fight alongside local partners the year after.

Putin said Washington promises to pull back its soldiers from Afghanistan every year but U.S. troops have remained in the country for 17 years.

- Ready for dialogue with Trump

He expressed his readiness to have a “direct dialogue” with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and said that he is “prepared” to discuss bilateral and many regional issues.

Putin voiced hope for an improvement in the relations between the two countries, saying, “I hope that something will get better.”

“I do not know whether he will be able to start a direct dialogue with Russia,” he added.

Putin and Trump were due to meet during the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, but the US president canceled the gathering over the developments in Kerch Strait occurred a week ahead of the summit.

- Ukraine crisis

In regards to the naval confrontation in the Sea of Azov with Ukraine, Putin blasted western media saying they remained silent about the seizure of Russian sailors aboard by Ukraine.

“They do not tweet about it,” he said.

Russia seized two Ukrainian navy ships and a navy tugboat along with 24 crew members off Crimea in late November, accusing the vessels of entering its waters and provoking conflict.

It said the vessels had ignored calls to stop, sparking military action.

Russia intervened as the Ukrainian ships were relocating from the Black Sea port of Odessa to the port of Mariupol in the Sea of Azov.

The action has further strained ties between Moscow and Kiev, which have been at loggerheads since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea after a controversial referendum.

The international community views the annexation as illegal and the election Russia uses to justify it as illegitimate.

- Annexation of Crimea

Russia is accused of Crimea’s annexation or of taking Crimea by force, Putin said.

However, he added: “In 2014, people living in Crimea went to the referendum and voted for reunification with Russia. After a set of domestic procedures, Crimea became a part of Russia.”

Moscow has the right to implement its military policy on its territory as it wants to do, he asserted.

Putin called on the West to “either recognize the results of Crimea’s referendum on reunification with Russia or stop imposing sanctions against people living in Crimea.”

Turkey, as well as the UN General Assembly, viewed the annexation as illegal.

Ukraine has also blamed Russia for separatist violence in eastern Ukraine near the border with Russia.

- Khashoggi killing

Commenting on the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi case, Putin drew parallels with the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergey Skripal in the U.K.

He said Khashoggi was killed and Skripal is alive, yet all remains calm in the first case, while a string of sanctions was imposed in the second.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged he was killed inside the diplomatic building, blaming the act on a botched operation.

- Relations with UK

During his presser, Putin expressed his willingness to restore full relations with London.

Relations between Russia and the U.K. have been tense since March when Skripal and his daughter came under an alleged nerve agent attack in the southern English Salisbury city.

The British authorities alleged Russia was behind the attempted murder, a charge Moscow denies.

U.K. expelled 23 Russian diplomats -- and 121 diplomats were expelled worldwide as a diplomatic crisis brewed.

Touching on the impact of UK withdrawal from the EU on Russia, he said that it would have a “minimal” and “indirect” effect on Moscow.

- ‘Nuclear war’

Putin in the massive news conference evaluated the main events of 2018 since he was re-elected as president for the fourth term.

The current situation, characterized by increasing military tensions, can lead to a nuclear war that will destroy the planet, the Russian president said.

The world underestimates the graveness of possible developments of current events, he added.

Putin stressed that the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and its intention to end the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty -- which are pillars of the international arms control system -- lowers the nuclear arms application threshold.

"And in turn, it can lead to a global nuclear catastrophe," he added. "I hope mankind will have enough common sense not to drive to the extremities."

- Growing role of rouble

He also spoke of the global de-dollarization trend and the role of the rouble in transactions.

“The transactions in dollars have decreased, according to IMF data,” Putin said. “Rouble’s role will become stronger, it is reliable and does not cause any additional costs.”

According to the report of Sputnik, Putin responded 66 questions in almost four-hour event. His remarks were translated into English, French and German.