Russia said that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's statement that his forces in Syria were there to topple President Bashar al-Assad had come as a surprise to Moscow and that it expected an explanation from Ankara, on Wednesday.
"The announcement really came as news to us" Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call, according to TASS.
"It is a very serious statement and one which differs from previous ones and with our understanding of the situation. We hope that our Turkish partners will provide us with some kind of explanation about this."
"We are there to bring justice. We are there to end the rule of the cruel Assad, who has been spreading state terror" Erdogan said in a speech on Tuesday.