Kremlin: Four-party Syria talks under discussion

MOSCOW/ANKARA — Russia is discussing the possibility of holding a conference on Syria with the leaders of Turkey, France and Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

The Kremlin made the comments after the leaders of Germany and France called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to express their concern about the humanitarian situation in Syria’s Idlib Province, urging an end to the conflict there.

On Thursday, two Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike in northwestern Syria, Turkey said, after an attack by Ankara-backed opposition forces that targeted Syrian government troops.

The deaths came after the Turkish president threatened to expand his nation’s involvement in Syria if more of his troops were hurt.

At least 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Syria this month amid a crushing offensive by Syrian government forces aimed at recapturing remaining opposition-held areas in the region.

Intent on halting the advance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed on Feb 12 to take military action “everywhere in Syria” if another Turkish soldier was killed or wounded.

The multiple-front offensive has also risked completely shattering a fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing sides of the Syrian war. Ankara has sent thousands of soldiers to northwestern Syria to try to stem the Syrian government advance on the province near the Turkish border, leading to the repeated flare-ups.

Thursday’s exchange marked a serious escalation that risks growing into a full-blown conflict between Turkey and Syria. Erdogan has also called on Syrian government forces to retreat from Idlib or face an “imminent” Turkish attack.

The exchange began after opposition fighters shelled Syrian government forces and entered the village of Nairab, which the Syrian army had captured on Feb 3, the Turkish Anadolu news agency said.

The Russian military said the militants’ actions “were supported by Turkish artillery fire”, which allowed them to break through the Syrian army’s defenses.

At the Syrian military’s request, Russian Su-24 bombers then struck the militants to prevent them from advancing and allowing Syrian government forces to “successfully repel all attacks”, the military added.

Moscow concerned

The Turkish Defense Ministry said as many as 50 Syrian army soldiers were killed and that five tanks, two armored personnel carriers and other equipment were destroyed.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova raised “serious concern about the Turkish military support for the militants”.

Turkey and Russia have closely coordinated their moves in years in Idlib. Turkey maintains observation posts in northern Syria that were set up under a deal with Russia to monitor a 2018 cease-fire agreement. The truce collapsed in late 2019, leading to the current Syrian offensive.

Russian officials have said they hold Turkey responsible for the collapse of the deal, saying Ankara had not held up its end to rein in militants who continued attacking Syrian and Russian targets.

So far, talks between Turkish and Russian officials have failed to reach agreements that would ease tensions there.

“While both Russia and Turkey are likely to seek to maintain their cooperation across Syria more broadly, growing tensions in Idlib between the two countries threatens to derail that cooperation,” said expert Mona Yacoubian, in an analysis for the United States Institute for Peace.