An American delegation visited Idlib .. Will Washington provide the Turkish army with air defenses?

A high-level American delegation visited Idlib governorate, northwestern Syria, on Tuesday in light of the fierce battles there, and confirmed the United States' readiness to provide Turkey with military equipment and humanitarian aid.

The delegation, which crossed into the Syrian lands from the Turkish state of Hatay, was briefed on the progress of international humanitarian assistance to the displaced Syrians, and met with volunteers in the civil defense in the province. It is noteworthy that nearly a million people were displaced from their homes in the Syrian north in less than three months, due to the military campaign launched by the Syrian regime with Russian support.

The American delegation included the Special Envoy to Syria, James Jeffrey, the American Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield, and the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kelly Kraft.

"Turkey is a partner with NATO," Geoffrey told reporters. "Most of the (Turkish) military is using American equipment. We will make sure that the equipment is ready and usable."

The US ambassador Satterfield stated that Washington is considering Ankara's request for air defenses.

Turkey had asked the United States to deploy the American Patriot missile system on its borders with Syria after the Syrian regime forces launched successive attacks that led to the killing of Turkish soldiers in Idlib province.

Turkish Defense Minister Khulusi Akar said last month that Washington might send Patriot missiles to his country after the killing of Turkish soldiers, but he ruled out any ground support from US forces.

Russian-Turkish contacts
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed Moscow's desire for close contacts between the Russian and Turkish military to reduce the risk of a confrontation between Russia and Turkey in Idlib.

Peskov's comments came before a planned meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, to try to find a way out of the current crisis in northern Syria.

Peskov pointed out that Moscow rejects the report of the United Nations committee which accuses the Russian Air Force of targeting civilians in Idlib indiscriminately, and criticized the report's lack of any reference to what he called terrorist attacks in Idlib, adding that this makes the conclusions contained in the report unilateral.

On the date of a tripartite summit between the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran, Peskov said that the meeting is on the agenda, and the event will be held upon the agreement of the dates of the three presidents.

Turkish process developments
On Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the shooting down of a Syrian regime's warplane in Idlib, the third since Sunday. The ministry said that its forces shot down a Syrian L-39 warplane.

A source in the ministry stated that the plane was shot down after being targeted by a Turkish "F-16" plane. The military source did not mention the fate of the pilot, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed his death after he jumped by parachute in the Deir Sunbul area, which is controlled by the fighting factions.

Al-Jazeera correspondent explained that the plane fell over Jabal al-Zawiya in Idlib. Later, the Syrian News Agency (SANA) announced that Turkish forces targeted the regime's warplane.

This is the third Syrian war plane that Turkey has been downing since Sunday in a growing campaign against the Syrian regime forces.

And the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced what it said was the neutralization of 327 elements of the Syrian regime during the past 24 hours, as part of the "Operation Spring Shield" in Idlib Governorate (northwestern Syria).

The statement added that Operation "Spring Shield" continued successfully. The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the killing of a Turkish soldier in an artillery attack on Idlib on Monday.

A battle will watch
Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted sources in the Syrian opposition that the regime forces had completely taken control of the city of Saraqib in the southern Idlib countryside. Syrian television also said that the regime forces had taken control of the villages and towns of Jobas, Dadekh, Kafr Katr, and Tarnbah in the vicinity of Saraqib.

In turn, the opposition said that it was engaged in confrontations it described as violent with the regime forces trying to advance towards the town of Efes (north of Saraqib).

The opposition forces stated that they destroyed the regime forces vehicles and armored vehicles on the two fronts of Jabal Al-Zawiya in the southern countryside of Idlib and Aleppo Al-Gharbi.

In another field development, sources told Al-Jazeera that 24 fighters from the Syrian armed opposition - including wounded - had arrived in the opposition areas in Aleppo countryside coming from the city of Al-Sanamayn in Daraa countryside, within the scope of a settlement with the regime, after confrontations in the city during the past two days.

The sources pointed out that the settlement negotiations with the regime led to the release of 52 members of the regime.

After the regime forces took control of the city of Sanameen, sources told the island that a number of other opposition fighters were negotiating the regime in the city in order to remain in it with a Russian guarantee.