MOSCOW (Kayhan Intl.) -- Russia on Friday said it was sending two warships armed with cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast and blamed Ankara for the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria’s Idlib region the previous day.
The killing of the Turkish soldiers on Thursday and the wounding of 32 others, announced by the governor in Turkey’s Hatay province bordering Syria, raised the Turkish military death toll in the region to 54 this month.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Syria and Erdogan has warned that Turkey will launch a full-scale offensive to repel Syrian forces unless they pull back from Turkish observation posts in the region.
Though trying to coordinate their efforts on Syria, Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey backs terrorists.
Responding to Thursday’s killings, a senior Turkish official said on Friday that Ankara would no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe. Turkey blamed an airstrike by Syrian government forces for the deaths.
Russia’s Defense Ministry was cited by the RIA news agency on Friday however as saying that the Turkish troops had been hit by artillery fire from Syrian government forces who were trying to repel an offensive by terrorists.
It was quoted as saying that Ankara had failed to notify Moscow of the presence of Turkish troops in the area hit by shelling despite being in regular communication with the Russian military.
The Turkish troops had been deployed directly alongside terrorists, the ministry was cited as saying. Russia said that Turkish forces "shouldn’t have been there.”
Moscow did everything it could to help once it learnt of the Turkish troop presence, the ministry was cited as saying. That included ensuring Syrian forces stopped shelling to allow Turkey to evacuate its dead and wounded.
A State Department representative said in a statement, "We stand by our NATO Ally Turkey and continue to call for an immediate end” to the Syrian offensive against terrorists.
NATO ambassadors were to meet in Brussels at Turkey’s request on Friday to hold consultations about developments in Syria.
Separately, and as tensions between Ankara and Damascus rose, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was cited by the Interfax news agency on Friday as saying it was sending two warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast.
A senior Russian lawmaker said on Friday that any full-scale Turkish military operation in Idlib region would end badly for Ankara itself, the Interfax news agency reported.
Interfax cited Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house of parliament’s international affairs committee, as issuing the warning.
Syria’s army will not allow Western states and their proxies to prolong "terrorist” control in Syria, a foreign ministry source cited by state news agency SANA said on Friday. The source said Syria’s army would continue its campaign to eradicate terrorist groups from all parts of Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Friday to discuss the implementation of agreements on Syria’s Idlib province amid mounting tension, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov told reporters at a news conference in Moscow that Russia and Turkey were ready to continue coordinating on the Syrian province of Idlib.
On Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Turkey of illegally sending strike drones into Idlib to support terrorists fighting Syrian government forces, and of providing artillery support for them.
The ministry made the allegation after militants backed by Turkish forces claimed that they had recaptured the crossroads town of Saraqeb.
Russian state TV earlier on Thursday said Turkish military specialists in Idlib were using shoulder-fired missiles to try to shoot down Russian and Syrian military aircraft.
The Russian ministry said Turkey was in breach of agreements it had made with Russia over Syria.
It said a Turkish strike drone had illegally entered Syrian airspace on Tuesday and been destroyed by Syrian government air defenses while preparing a strike on government troops.
Iran said it was closely monitoring and pursuing developments on the field and the regional consequences in Idlib.
In a statement Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Iran called for an urgent containment of the chaotic situation in Idlib.
"Given the previous decision made by senior officials attending the Astana process on holding this meeting in our country, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues its efforts to hold the summit under the current critical circumstances,” it said.
Iran believes participants at the Astana summit can take effective measures to battle terrorism, avoid harm to civilians and resolve the conflict through diplomacy, the statement said.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Syria and Erdogan has warned that Turkey will launch a full-scale offensive to repel Syrian forces unless they pull back from Turkish observation posts in the region.
Though trying to coordinate their efforts on Syria, Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey backs terrorists.
Responding to Thursday’s killings, a senior Turkish official said on Friday that Ankara would no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe. Turkey blamed an airstrike by Syrian government forces for the deaths.
Russia’s Defense Ministry was cited by the RIA news agency on Friday however as saying that the Turkish troops had been hit by artillery fire from Syrian government forces who were trying to repel an offensive by terrorists.
It was quoted as saying that Ankara had failed to notify Moscow of the presence of Turkish troops in the area hit by shelling despite being in regular communication with the Russian military.
The Turkish troops had been deployed directly alongside terrorists, the ministry was cited as saying. Russia said that Turkish forces "shouldn’t have been there.”
Moscow did everything it could to help once it learnt of the Turkish troop presence, the ministry was cited as saying. That included ensuring Syrian forces stopped shelling to allow Turkey to evacuate its dead and wounded.
A State Department representative said in a statement, "We stand by our NATO Ally Turkey and continue to call for an immediate end” to the Syrian offensive against terrorists.
NATO ambassadors were to meet in Brussels at Turkey’s request on Friday to hold consultations about developments in Syria.
Separately, and as tensions between Ankara and Damascus rose, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was cited by the Interfax news agency on Friday as saying it was sending two warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast.
A senior Russian lawmaker said on Friday that any full-scale Turkish military operation in Idlib region would end badly for Ankara itself, the Interfax news agency reported.
Interfax cited Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house of parliament’s international affairs committee, as issuing the warning.
Syria’s army will not allow Western states and their proxies to prolong "terrorist” control in Syria, a foreign ministry source cited by state news agency SANA said on Friday. The source said Syria’s army would continue its campaign to eradicate terrorist groups from all parts of Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Friday to discuss the implementation of agreements on Syria’s Idlib province amid mounting tension, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov told reporters at a news conference in Moscow that Russia and Turkey were ready to continue coordinating on the Syrian province of Idlib.
On Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Turkey of illegally sending strike drones into Idlib to support terrorists fighting Syrian government forces, and of providing artillery support for them.
The ministry made the allegation after militants backed by Turkish forces claimed that they had recaptured the crossroads town of Saraqeb.
Russian state TV earlier on Thursday said Turkish military specialists in Idlib were using shoulder-fired missiles to try to shoot down Russian and Syrian military aircraft.
The Russian ministry said Turkey was in breach of agreements it had made with Russia over Syria.
It said a Turkish strike drone had illegally entered Syrian airspace on Tuesday and been destroyed by Syrian government air defenses while preparing a strike on government troops.
Iran said it was closely monitoring and pursuing developments on the field and the regional consequences in Idlib.
In a statement Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Iran called for an urgent containment of the chaotic situation in Idlib.
"Given the previous decision made by senior officials attending the Astana process on holding this meeting in our country, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues its efforts to hold the summit under the current critical circumstances,” it said.
Iran believes participants at the Astana summit can take effective measures to battle terrorism, avoid harm to civilians and resolve the conflict through diplomacy, the statement said.
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