Su-24 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces attacked terrorists in Syrian Idlib. This is stated in the message of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties (CPVS).

“At the request of the Syrian command of the SU-24 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, a blow was struck against the bursting armed formations of terrorists,” the CPVS said in a statement.

The center noted that Russian aviation thus destroyed one tank, six infantry fighting vehicles and five pickups with large-caliber weapons of militants.

According to representatives of the Central Military Command Center, the actions of the militants were supported by artillery fire of the Turkish military. The Center indicated that it was this circumstance that allowed the terrorists to break through the defense of the Syrian military.

“Through the deconflicting line, the Turkish side was informed that Russian means of objective control revealed the fact of artillery fire from Turkish positions on the units of the Syrian army,” the Russian military said.

  • Survey of fire support by a Turkish battery of self-propelled artillery (ACS) militants offensive in Idlib

It is noted that due to shelling from Turkey, four Syrian troops were injured. The CPVS specified that after informing the Turkish side the artillery fire ceased.

At the same time, the Center emphasized that "this is not the first case of support for militants from the Turkish armed forces."

“We urge the Turkish side to stop incidents to stop supporting the actions of terrorists and transferring weapons to them,” they said.

In turn, Turkey on February 20 reported the death of two of its military in the Idlib region. According to Anadolu, referring to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, five more soldiers were injured.

We note that a few days ago, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad said that the SAR army will continue to liberate the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, despite obstacles.

At the same time, the Minister of National Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar on Thursday said that in the situation in Idlib, Ankara “has no problems” with Moscow, and the Syrian army is the main target of the Turkish military.

“We have no problems with Russia, our goal is the regime (the legitimate president of Syria, Bashar Assad. - RT),” Rara Novosti quotes Akara.

He specified that a good dialogue between Russia and Turkey is maintained, including at the level of the Minister of Defense of Russia, the head of the General Staff, as well as with military attaches and the military on the field.

“We are taking all measures to prevent accidents. We work very openly and transparently. By no means do we want to allow any clashes with Russia. Our goal is to stop the attacks of the regime’s forces, ”said the head of the Turkish Defense Ministry.

He also added that Turkey expects to continue joint patrols with the Russian military. According to Akar, Ankara also plans to continue negotiations with Russia on the situation in Idlib.

The situation in Idlib

Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the province of Idlib has never been under the control of Damascus. In 2017, on the initiative of Russia, Turkey and Iran, negotiations were held in Astana on Syria - as a result, Idlib was included in the list of de-escalation zones. To date, this province remains the last large area of ​​Syria, which is controlled by militants.

In 2018, Russia and Turkey agreed to create a 20 km wide demilitarized buffer zone in the province. However, militant associations in the region continued to be active. In April 2019, the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces stated that terrorists from the Jabhat al-Nusra group * control 99% of the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

A new phase of exacerbation in the region began in December 2019. In February 2020, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued an informational message from which it follows that in the last month of 2019, more than 1,400 attacks by militants using tanks, machine guns, infantry fighting vehicles, mortar and artillery attacks were recorded in the de-escalation zone.

“In fact, the jihadists have taken the population of the Idlib de-escalation hostage and use it as a human shield,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted, indicating that the attempts of the military of Moscow and Ankara to introduce a “silence regime” were unsuccessful. In addition, in the region in early February, exchanges of blows between the military of Turkey and Syria took place.

Commenting on the situation in Idlib, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the foreign affairs agencies of Russia and Turkey are constantly in contact.

“We are in daily contact with Turkish partners in a number of areas - these are both our diplomats and Russian military experts. These contacts are not interrupted, ”Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday, February 20.

* “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.