the Turks had convinced Russia and Iran not to prevent the rebel offensive

LTurkey convinced Russia and Iran not to intervene in Syria during the rebel offensive that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish Foreign Minister said on Friday.

“The most important thing to do was to talk to the Russians and the Iranians and make sure they wouldn't enter the equation militarily. We spoke with the Russians and the Iranians, they understood,” Hakan Fidan said in an interview broadcast live on the private Turkish channel NTV.

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“In order for there to be minimal loss of life here, we have strived to achieve this without bloodshed by pursuing targeted negotiations with two important actors capable of using force,” he said. continued.

Bashar al-Assad, not a man to invest

For the head of Turkish diplomacy, if Bashar al-Assad had received the support of Russia and Iran, there was a risk that “the victory of the opposition […] take a lot of time and it would have been bloody.”

“But the Russians and the Iranians saw that it no longer made any sense. The man they invested in is not a man worth investing in. Moreover, the conditions in the region, as well as the global conditions, are not the same,” he clarified.

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