Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the 21st called on the Russian President to stop the Syrian government's offensive in the northwestern Syria.
Focusing on the situation in Syria's Idlib province, which borders Turkey, French and German leaders have called on leaders of relevant countries to convene an emergency meeting for two days to end military conflicts and humanitarian crises.
[Call by appointment]
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Erdogan on the phone on the 21st to discuss Syria and Libya issues.
The Kremlin issued a statement saying that the leaders of the two countries agreed to "strengthen bilateral consultations on the situation in Idlib, ease tensions, guarantee a ceasefire and eliminate the threat of terrorism".
Erdogan told Putin that the solution is the Sochi agreement reached by the two sides in September 2018. According to the agreement, the two sides decided to establish a demilitarized zone between Syrian government forces and opposition forces in Idlib province, and the Turkish side established a military observation point in the name of monitoring the ceasefire.
However, since December last year, Syrian government forces have launched a new round of military operations in Idlib and surrounding areas, reclaiming a large area of land from the armed forces of the opposition and surrounding some Turkish military observation points. Earlier this month, Turkish and Syrian armed forces broke out into rare clashes, killing people on both sides, and the Sochi agreement was almost a dead letter.
Russia supports Syrian government forces. Russia ’s Air Force sends Su-24 fighters to attack militants in the destabilized zone of the Idlib conflict on the 20th. . According to the Russian side, the militants' actions were supported by the Turkish fire, and the militants broke through the Syrian government's defense line. The Russian side said that after the Russian side found that the Turkish side supported the artillery, the Turkish side stopped shelling.
Turkey and Syria were deadlocked. The Turkish side passed the Syrian army back and forth at the end of the month, otherwise the Turkish side would take military action; and Syria vowed to continue pursuing "terrorists" until it won "a complete victory."
The statement issued by the Turkish Presidential Palace said: "In the call, the President emphasized that the Syrian government should be curbed in Idlib and the humanitarian crisis must stop." Putin told Erdogan that he "gravely concerns" Id "Attack operations" by extremist armed men in the lib area.
【Three-way calling】
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Erdogan talked on the phone on the 21st to discuss issues such as the situation in Syria. Regarding the situation in Idlib province, the leaders of the three countries expressed concern over the humanitarian disaster that the local people are experiencing and expressed concern about the danger of further escalation of tension in the local area.
Macron called for the summit of France, Germany, Russia and Turkey on the Syria issue as soon as possible during the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium.
The day before, Macron and Merkel spoke to Erdogan and Putin on the phone and proposed a four-day conference on Syria. A spokesman for the Russian presidential palace told media reporters on the 21st that "the possibility of holding a summit is being discussed", but no final decision has been made.
Syria's Idlib province, bordering Turkey, is the last major site controlled by Syrian opposition militants and extremist groups. Syrian government forces have been hoping to recapture this area.
EU 27 leaders issued a statement on the 21st, referring to "humanitarianism", while condemning Syrian government forces for launching an offensive.
The Syrian war spread to Europe in 2015. Nearly one million refugees fled from Syria and flooded into Europe, triggering Europe's largest refugee wave since World War II. European countries have serious differences on refugee issues, and Turkey, as a transit country for Syrian refugees, has repeatedly pressured the EU to "defend" refugees.
According to United Nations data, since December 1, the fighting in Syria has increased the number of refugees by 900,000, more than half of whom are children.
Turkey currently holds about 3.6 million Syrian refugees and is unable to accept more refugees. Erdogan mentioned the establishment of a "safe area" around Idlib to provide shelter and other support for refugees.
He said that some Turkish organizations have built facilities there. "We will continue. We will discuss with Putin. I hope we can make useful progress on this issue." (Tian Ye) (Xinhua News Agency special feature)