MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) - Moscow is opposed to any armed fighting in Syria and insists that all issues should be settled via the existing negotiating formats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov said.
"We are definitely opposed to the resumption of any military actions. We have proven formats of discussion and coordination within the framework of consultations and Russian-Turkish contacts, naturally both political and between military entities," Bogdanov told Interfax on Thursday, commenting on Ankara's declaration that it intends to launch an operation in northern Syria.
In addition, "we also have the Astana format, where we, along with Turkey and Iran, are guarantors precisely of the cessation of hostilities in general on the entire Syrian territory, including all components of this situation," he said.
"Certainly, we also maintain contacts with the Americans, both bilateral ones, and naturally, Americans have been involved sometimes in the Astana format as observers," Bogdanov said.
"Certainly, we have very good contacts with the Syrians themselves, including Kurdish structures, and therefore, we're always prepared also to act as mediators between all parties concerned so as not to allow bloodshed and the loss of life and address all problems precisely via a constructive political dialogue," he said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said earlier that Turkey would take steps against terrorists in Syria on its own. Cavusoglu reasoned that Russia and the United States did not deliver on their promise to make sure that terrorists are driven 30 kilometers away from the Turkish border into Syrian territory, and so, given the growing terrorist attacks, Turkey has to settle the problem itself.