After targeting the Turkish forces in Idlib .. Ankara rejects the Russian novel and an emergency meeting of NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began an emergency meeting at the ambassadorial level at the invitation of Turkey, which also called for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Syria, after 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike carried out by the Syrian regime forces yesterday evening in Idlib governorate.

Ankara has rejected Moscow's narrative, which purports to target Turkish soldiers by not informing the Russian authorities of their presence in the bombed area.

Under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty that established the alliance, any Nano member state is entitled to request consultations if it believes that the integrity of its territory, political independence, or security is at risk.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, offered condolences to Turkey over the killing of the Turkish military, noting that both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin discussed the developments in Idlib after the attack.

He added that Turkey has the right to resort to its NATO allies, but considered that what happens in Idlib does not fall under any clause of the NATO Charter.

Continue coordination
He said that his country and Turkey are ready to continue coordination on Idlib, noting at the same time that the Syrian army has the right to completely eliminate terrorism and that Russia cannot prevent it, and said, "There is no place for compromise with the terrorists in Syria," as he put it.

The Reuters news agency earlier in the day quoted the Russian Ministry of Defense, denying that any Turkish forces had been targeted in Idlib yesterday evening, indicating that Ankara had not informed Moscow of the presence of Turkish soldiers in the area that was bombed.

The ministry confirmed that it had taken cease-fire measures by the Syrian side as soon as it was informed by the Turkish authorities of the deaths of Turkish citizens.

It also said that Turkish army soldiers were among the Syrian militants who tried to launch a major attack on the regime forces, who were wounded in the shelling.

Turkish Defense Minister, Khulusi Akar, who accompanied the leaders of the land and air forces to the headquarters of operations command in the border city of Antakya to oversee the military operation launched by the army in Idlib, said that the attack was carried out - on Turkish forces - despite the prior coordination with Russian officials and informing them of the locations of the units in Region.

Akar also denied the presence of armed groups besides the Turkish forces at the site of the bombing, stressing that despite the warning not to target the Turkish forces for the first time, the attack continued and also affected ambulances.

On the other hand, Interfax news agency, quoting the head of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Parliament, Vladimir Zbarov, said that any large-scale Turkish military operation in Idlib would have a bad end for Ankara itself.

Moscow said earlier today that it had sent two warships equipped with cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast.

The United States and NATO condemned the bombing carried out by the Syrian regime forces on a Turkish military gathering near Idlib.

The United States called on the Syrian regime and Russia to end their attack, which it described as heinous, and the US State Department expressed its deep concern about the attack on Turkish soldiers, and announced in a statement that Washington stood next to Turkey, its partner in NATO.

Condemnation of the attacks
For his part, the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed his condemnation of the attacks launched by the Syrian regime and its ally Russia, and demanded that they be stopped.

A UN spokesman also said that the Secretary-General of the International Organization, Antonio Guterres, was following with "great concern" the escalation in northwestern Syria and the news of the killing of dozens of Turkish soldiers.

The European Union's foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, also considered that tension in Idlib could escalate into a major international conflict, stressing that the Union
He will study all necessary measures to protect his security interests.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held an exceptional security meeting yesterday evening regarding the situation in northwestern Syria, which was attended by Defense Minister Khusi Akar, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavişoغلlu, Chief of Staff Major General Yasar Guler and Chief of Intelligence Hakan Vidan.

The Turkish army responded to the regime forces by bombing several locations of it, and the head of the communication department in the Turkish presidency, Fakhruddin Alton, said that "all of the (Syrian) regime's specific targets were targeted by the fire of our ground and air forces."