Turkey says it told Russia, Iran not to intervene militarily in Syria rebel push

Turkey says it had urged Russia and Iran not to intervene militarily to support Bashar al-Assad’s forces as Islamist-led rebels mounted their lightning advance on Damascus that ended with the Syrian strongman’s ouster.

“The most important thing was to talk to the Russians and Iranians to ensure they didn’t enter the equation militarily. We had meetings with [them] and they understood,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells Turkey’s private NTV television.

He says if Moscow and Tehran, both key Assad allies since the start of the civil war in 2011, had come to the Syrian president’s aid, the rebels could still have won but the outcome could have been far more violent.

“If Assad had received support, the opposition could have achieved victory with their determination, but it would have taken a long time and could have been bloody,” he says.

Turkey’s aim was to “hold focused talks with the two important power players to ensure minimum loss of life,” Fidan says.

They quickly realized the game was up, that Assad “was no longer someone to invest in” and “there was no point anymore,” he adds.