Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press conference in Ankara today, Tuesday, that two Turkish soldiers were killed in Libya, and he made statements about the situation in Idlib, northern Syria, and said that it was not entirely agreed to hold a four-way summit to discuss developments there.
Erdogan did not clarify when the two Turkish soldiers were killed in Libya, and he had admitted last Saturday that an unspecified number of Turkish troops were killed in Libya. Ankara has sent troops to support the internationally recognized reconciliation government in Tripoli, which is under attack by the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar.
The Al-Jazeera correspondent in Turkey, Omar Khashram, indicated that this is the first time that the Turkish president has specifically spoken of dead Turkish forces in Libya, and the reporter stated that the Turkish opposition had asked the president to disclose the losses of the Turkish forces there.
Erdogan also made statements for the first time about the participation of Syrian elements under the banner of Turkish forces interfering in Libya, and said that a number of members of the "Syrian National Army" affiliated with the Syrian opposition operate in Libya under the leadership of Turkish advisors and trainers, according to the agreements concluded between Ankara and the Libyan government of reconciliation.
The Turkish President added that these soldiers take pride in their participation in this humanitarian mission, along with Turkey, as he put it, and at the same time renewed the attack on the retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, saying that he is an illegitimate figure and receives support from the Abu Dhabi government, soldiers from Sudan and about 2500 elements from the Wagner Company Russian.
On the Syrian issue, Erdogan stated that full agreement had not yet been reached on holding a proposed summit on the fifth of next March with Russia, France and Germany regarding the conflict in Idlib, northern Syria, but he added that he might meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on that date.
He pointed out that there are contacts at the highest levels with the Russian side, especially with Putin, to assess the deficiencies and identify them in the road map regarding Idlib.
The Turkish President said that a Russian delegation will visit Turkey on Wednesday to discuss developments in Idlib. Ankara has repeatedly called on Russia to stop its campaign in support of the Syrian regime in its attack in Idlib, which has caused a humanitarian crisis and the worst wave of displacement since the outbreak of the war in Syria, as nearly a million people fled their homes within about three months.