Erdogan: Talks with Russia on Idlib were not satisfactory and the Turkish attack "a matter of time"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the deadline he set for the Syrian regime is drawing to a close, and he is warning the regime for the last time to stop its attacks in Idlib and withdraw to the borders of Sochi's understanding.

In a speech to the Turkish parliament, Erdogan stressed Ankara's insistence on moving on its own to eliminate its security concerns.

The Turkish President stressed, "They are determined to make Idlib a safe area for Turkey and the people of the province, whatever it costs."

He also revealed that the talks with Russia regarding Idlib were very far from meeting his country's demands, and he warned that launching a military operation there was "a matter of time."

Ankara and Moscow signed an agreement in 2018 to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib, allowing both sides to also establish military checkpoints in the region.

Violation of the agreement
The two sides exchanged accusations of violating the agreement since the escalation of violence in Idlib. Turkish and Russian officials held several rounds of talks in Ankara and Moscow, and the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers also met at the weekend, but they did not reach a solution.

For its part, the Kremlin said that Moscow is determined to continue contacts with Ankara to prevent the situation in Idlib from worsening, and that the possibility of starting a Turkish military operation against the Syrian army is the worst scenario.

The Kremlin added that Moscow is no longer satisfied with the implementation of the Sochi Agreement, in light of what he called terrorist attacks against the Syrian army and Russian military installations in Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow has not presented any new conditions in the Russian-Turkish negotiations, and has asked Ankara to implement only the Sochi Agreement.

The Russian minister - in a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi - indicated that the Turkish side did not succeed in separating the national opposition from the terrorists within the time limits of the Sochi agreement, even after a full year.

Lavrov also denied that there was talk of a return to the situation in Idlib a year and a half ago.