Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his readiness to begin a military operation in Syrian Idlib. According to him, Ankara does not intend to transfer the region to the control of the legitimate authorities of the SAR, headed by President Bashar Assad.

“Turkey has completed preparations in order to implement its Idlib plan, as we did in previous operations. Frankly, the operation in Idlib is only a matter of time. Turkey will not leave Idlib to the mercy of the regime, ”Erdogan said.

He also said that despite the ongoing negotiations, Turkey and Russia are still “far from reaching agreements.” Negotiations between the parties took place in Moscow on February 17 and 18.

“If we are talking about an operation against the legitimate authorities and the armed forces of Syria, then this, of course, is the worst case scenario,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president.

He also added that Moscow would continue contacts with Ankara so that the situation in Idlib would not further escalate. The Kremlin is not satisfied that the terrorists have stepped up their actions in the region.

“We were satisfied with the agreements that were reached more than a year ago in Sochi - and it was mutual satisfaction. And we absolutely ceased to be satisfied after the offensive of militants and terrorist groups against the Syrian armed forces and Russian military facilities began from the territory of Idlib. On this our satisfaction ended, ”Peskov stated.

Russian-Turkish talks in Moscow were also commented on by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. During a press conference after a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman al-Safadi, he noted that the parties failed to reach a final agreement on Idlib.

“They did not achieve a final result regarding how to implement the agreements of President Putin and Erdogan on Idlib. We did not put forward any new requirements. We believe that it is necessary to accomplish everything that our leaders agreed on, ”the minister said.

Russia and Turkey have several agreements on Idlib. As noted in the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ongoing increase in tension in the region is due to the fact that Ankara does not fulfill its obligations. In particular, Turkey had to dissociate the armed opposition from terrorists, which was never done. The breeding of forces did not take place either.

Lavrov explained that this is why the Syrian troops are forced to conduct operations against militants.

“Since the terrorists and the militants collaborating with them themselves do not want to move away from the external perimeter of the de-escalation zone and continue their provocative actions, naturally, they are moved away from this perimeter so that they are as far away as possible from those objects that they are trying to strike,” stressed the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

  • Reuters
  • © SANA / Handout

The situation in Idlib

Recall that in recent months, the situation in the Syrian de-escalation zone of Idlib has deteriorated. Due to the increased activity of the terrorists, “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” * the Syrian government army began to carry out operations, moving them away from settlements and infrastructure.

However, Turkey is opposed to the operation. Idlib is located on the Syrian-Turkish border, which is why Ankara is concerned about the potential flow of refugees. According to the spokesman for the Turkish leader, Ibrahim Kalin, "waves of refugees are gradually putting pressure on Turkey."

At the same time, the Turkish armed forces located in the Idlib region are conducting their operations. Clashes take place between them and the Syrian army. As noted in the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties and the control of the movement of refugees in Syria (CPVS), the Turkish side does not always warn the Russian Federation about its movements, and therefore sometimes comes under fire, which is conducted by the army of the SAR against the militants.

* “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (“Jabhat Fath al-Sham”, “Front al-Nusra”, “Jabhat al-Nusra”) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2014.