Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the scenario of what happened several years ago in the northern city of Aleppo will not be repeated in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
Erdogan said yesterday evening at a joint press conference with Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis in Ankara that Idlib is being exterminated little by little, and that what is happening there is like what happened in Aleppo, which was largely demolished, as he put it.
After a violent Russian-led air campaign that left extensive destruction and thousands of deaths, Syrian regime forces were able in late 2016 to recover the part of the opposition that was in the city of Aleppo, which destroyed its old neighborhoods.
Erdogan pointed to attacks by the Syrian regime forces in Idlib, supported by Russia, which have left about a thousand civilians dead, and caused the displacement of about half a million others, during the past four months.
He also pointed to the US bombing, which targeted days ago leaders in the factions of the guards of religion and supporters of Tawhid, which Washington says are linked to al-Qaeda and active in the north of Syria, and caused many deaths, including civilians, according to Russian statements.
The Turkish president stressed that his country could not remain silent about what is happening in northern Syria, and that what is happening in Idlib is the issue of Turkey, and pointed out that any displacement of the population will be towards the Syrian-Turkish border.
"We are the ones who suffer the consequences," he said. "We have a 910-kilometer border with Syria, and any fire there will burn us, and those countries will not." In reference to states involved in the bombing of Idlib.
He added that the developments in this province will be one of the most important issues that he will discuss with his US counterpart Donald Trump if they meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.He also pointed to the upcoming talks between Turkey, Russia and Iran on the situation inside the so-called escalation zones in northern Syria.
On the other hand, the Turkish president talked about the safe area that Ankara and Washington agreed to establish off the Turkish-Syrian borders in areas currently under the control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, and extends from the east of the Euphrates River to the Syrian-Iraqi border, and said that his country will succeed in establishing it.
He stressed that the safe area must be in all areas along the Turkish-Syrian border and a depth of thirty kilometers inside Syrian territory, expressing regret that the safe area that was supposed to be in Idlib and adjacent areas remained on paper.