ANKARA — Turkey and Saudi Arabia on Thursday warned Russia over the consequences of its intervention in Syria, with Ankara telling Moscow its bombing campaign in support of the regime was a "big mistake".
The two countries support the moderate opposition in Syria and have been infuriated by Moscow's bombing campaign to prop the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.
"Russia is making a big mistake," Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu told reporters after talks in Ankara with Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir.
"What it does will bring no meaning or benefit, other than delaying the transition process to help Syria out of the chaos," he added. "We will continue with our warnings."
Ankara is particularly concerned over claims — denied by Moscow — that its bombing campaign has targeted anti-Assad rebels rather than the stated aim of Daesh (the so-called IS) militants.
"Saudi Arabia and Turkey are in agreement on supporting the opposition in Syria. What is important is a political solution," Jubeir said.
"We are in agreement that there will certainly be no role for Bashar Al-Assad," he added.
He said that in recent talks with top Russian officials, Riyadh had told Moscow that the Syria crisis should be solved according to the 2012 Geneva communique which envisages a political transition in Syria.
"We (in Ankara) discussed the intervention of foreign powers, especially the Russian intervention which is a very critical issue and could lead to foreigners intervening in Syria from the outside," Al-Jubeir said.
Meanwhile, Russia said Thursday its warplanes had eased back on airstrikes in Syria as regime forces press a widening ground offensive, while President Vladimir Putin criticized Washington for not cooperating over the conflict.
As Moscow and Washington neared agreement on measures to avoid confrontation over Syria, Russia announced that a hotline had been set up with Israel to ensure there would be no clashes between their air forces.
Russia launched 32 attacks on "terrorist" targets over the past 24 hours, the defense ministry said Thursday afternoon, compared with some 86 the previous day.
"The intensity of the sorties... has slightly decreased in the past day," a statement said, because "the front line with the terrorist groups of Daesh is changing as a result of active offensives by the Syrian armed forces."
The latest strikes targeted Damascus, Idlib, Hama, Deir Ezzor, and Aleppo provinces.
In Aleppo, it said strikes had destroyed a Daesh command post and an underground bomb-making workshop.
Also eliminated were artillery positions in Khan Sheikhun in Hama, one of the targets of the Syrian military offensive.
