Moscow (AFP)
The Russian and Turkish presidents on Tuesday said they shared "serious concerns" over the situation in the Syrian region of Idleb (north-west), plagued by intense fighting, Ankara warning that Turkey would take "all necessary measures" to defend his troops.
After talks on the sidelines of an air show near Moscow, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan said they would like to work together to appease the situation in this border region of Turkey.
"The situation in the Idleb de-escalation zone raises serious concerns both at home and among our Turkish partners," Putin said during a press conference.
"We understand Turkey's concerns about security at its southern border, we believe these are legitimate interests," he added, adding that he and his Turkish counterpart had "further joint measures" to "normalize" the situation in this area, without giving further details.
After several months of bombing by Russian and Syrian aircraft, fighting in the Idleb region, the last not controlled by the Damascus regime, have intensified since the outbreak of a ground offensive in early August .
President Erdogan has warned that Turkey will take "all necessary measures" to protect its soldiers deployed in the region, according to comments translated into Russian.
"The situation has become so complicated that at the moment our soldiers are in danger, we do not want it to continue, we will take all necessary measures in time," he warned. of this press conference, adding to having "discussed" with Mr. Putin.
Last Friday, Syrian forces surrounded the main observation post established by the Turkish army in the region. A few days earlier, planes and Russian planes had bombed the vanguard of a large military convoy sent by Ankara to Idleb, where he was immobilized.
© 2019 AFP