What Is Turkey Up to?
ANKARA (Kayhan Intl.) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Ankara will not allow the Syrian government to advance in Idlib where foreign-backed terrorists cling to their last bastion in the Arab country.
"We will not allow Syria the opportunity to gain ground there,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish and Syrian armies on Monday had their deadliest clash since Ankara sent troops to Syria in 2016.
Government shelling of Turkish positions in Idlib killed at least six Turkish soldiers and wounded nine on Monday. Turkey said it retaliated with an assault that killed at least 13 Syrian soldiers, but other sides put the death toll much lower.
The incident further tested a fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow on Syria.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Turkish military came under fire from Syrian government forces because Moscow had not been warned about Turkey’s operations in Idlib.
Speaking on a flight back from Ukraine, Erdogan said there was no need to be in "serious contradiction” with Russia over developments in Syria for now, adding that Ankara and Moscow will sit down to talk about the issue "without anger”.
In an agreement reached last year, Russia and Turkey agreed to reduce fighting in Idlib and to each contain their allies’ military activities in northwest Syria.
Konstantin Kosachev, a senior Russian lawmaker, said the situation in Idlib was a "serious test of the strength of the existing Russian-Turkish agreements” in both the province and in northeast Syria.
A Turkish security official said clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces continued intermittently around Saraqeb, a town 15 km east of Idlib city, according to Reuters.
He said Turkey has no intention of withdrawing from any of the 12 observation posts it set up in the area as part of a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran, even though some posts are now surrounded by Syrian government forces.
The government offensive to retake the Idlib region is being carried on two fronts, the south of Idlib and from neighboring Aleppo province to the west.
Government forces on Tuesday intensified their attacks on Aleppo’s western countryside, targeting terrorist positions in Kfar Dael, Mansoura and Al-Atareb towns, state-run news agency SANA reported.
SANA also said that government troops were locked in intense fighting with terrorists forces, which are dominated by the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, southwest of Saraqeb.
On Saturday, Turkish-backed militants attacked positions held by the Syrian government forces northeast of Aleppo, said the observatory which is generally sympathetic to militants in Syria.
Recent major advances by the Syrian army in Idlib and assertions by state officials to continue the offensive until all dangerous terrorists are ousted from the province have seriously worried Turkey.
Damascus launched the offensive in Idlib, the last major terrorist-held territory in Syria, last August after militants stepped up attacking Syrian and Russian positions.
In September 2018, Turkey and Russia signed a ceasefire deal to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib. Turkey also set up a dozen observation points in the region to uphold the ceasefire.
Under the Sochi agreement, all militants in the demilitarized zone that surrounds Idlib, and also parts of the provinces of Aleppo and west-central province of Hama, were supposed to pull out heavy arms by October 2018 and Takfiri groups to withdraw.
However, Turkey has failed to fulfill any of its obligations as Takfiri terrorists have continued to rule supreme in the regions outside the control of the Syrian government.
The Syrian offensive came after those positioned in the de-escalation zone failed to honor the ceasefire and continued to target civilian neighborhoods.
Turkey, which supports so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorists, launched two cross-border operations in northern Syria in August 2016 and January 2018, with the declared aim of eradicating Kurdish militants near its borders.
Again in October 2019, Turkish troops and its proxies launched a cross-border invasion of northeastern Syria in a declared attempt to push Kurdish militants from border areas.
Syria has strongly condemned the invasions and pledged to drive out Turkish troops from its territories by any means possible.
On Monday, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling AK Party said Turkey would view Syrian government forces around its observation posts in Idlib as "targets”.
"We will not allow Syria the opportunity to gain ground there,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish and Syrian armies on Monday had their deadliest clash since Ankara sent troops to Syria in 2016.
Government shelling of Turkish positions in Idlib killed at least six Turkish soldiers and wounded nine on Monday. Turkey said it retaliated with an assault that killed at least 13 Syrian soldiers, but other sides put the death toll much lower.
The incident further tested a fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow on Syria.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Turkish military came under fire from Syrian government forces because Moscow had not been warned about Turkey’s operations in Idlib.
Speaking on a flight back from Ukraine, Erdogan said there was no need to be in "serious contradiction” with Russia over developments in Syria for now, adding that Ankara and Moscow will sit down to talk about the issue "without anger”.
In an agreement reached last year, Russia and Turkey agreed to reduce fighting in Idlib and to each contain their allies’ military activities in northwest Syria.
Konstantin Kosachev, a senior Russian lawmaker, said the situation in Idlib was a "serious test of the strength of the existing Russian-Turkish agreements” in both the province and in northeast Syria.
A Turkish security official said clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces continued intermittently around Saraqeb, a town 15 km east of Idlib city, according to Reuters.
He said Turkey has no intention of withdrawing from any of the 12 observation posts it set up in the area as part of a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran, even though some posts are now surrounded by Syrian government forces.
The government offensive to retake the Idlib region is being carried on two fronts, the south of Idlib and from neighboring Aleppo province to the west.
Government forces on Tuesday intensified their attacks on Aleppo’s western countryside, targeting terrorist positions in Kfar Dael, Mansoura and Al-Atareb towns, state-run news agency SANA reported.
SANA also said that government troops were locked in intense fighting with terrorists forces, which are dominated by the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, southwest of Saraqeb.
On Saturday, Turkish-backed militants attacked positions held by the Syrian government forces northeast of Aleppo, said the observatory which is generally sympathetic to militants in Syria.
Recent major advances by the Syrian army in Idlib and assertions by state officials to continue the offensive until all dangerous terrorists are ousted from the province have seriously worried Turkey.
Damascus launched the offensive in Idlib, the last major terrorist-held territory in Syria, last August after militants stepped up attacking Syrian and Russian positions.
In September 2018, Turkey and Russia signed a ceasefire deal to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib. Turkey also set up a dozen observation points in the region to uphold the ceasefire.
Under the Sochi agreement, all militants in the demilitarized zone that surrounds Idlib, and also parts of the provinces of Aleppo and west-central province of Hama, were supposed to pull out heavy arms by October 2018 and Takfiri groups to withdraw.
However, Turkey has failed to fulfill any of its obligations as Takfiri terrorists have continued to rule supreme in the regions outside the control of the Syrian government.
The Syrian offensive came after those positioned in the de-escalation zone failed to honor the ceasefire and continued to target civilian neighborhoods.
Turkey, which supports so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorists, launched two cross-border operations in northern Syria in August 2016 and January 2018, with the declared aim of eradicating Kurdish militants near its borders.
Again in October 2019, Turkish troops and its proxies launched a cross-border invasion of northeastern Syria in a declared attempt to push Kurdish militants from border areas.
Syria has strongly condemned the invasions and pledged to drive out Turkish troops from its territories by any means possible.
On Monday, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling AK Party said Turkey would view Syrian government forces around its observation posts in Idlib as "targets”.
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