Turkey’s Erdogan hopes to broker Idlib truce in Moscow
BEIRUT: Turkey’s president said he hopes to broker a cease-fire later this week in Moscow when he meets with his Russian counterpart, after growing alarm over direct clashes between Turkish troops and Russian-backed Syrian forces in northern Syria.
The fighting in Syria’s Idlib province, the last rebel-held area in the country, has sparked one of the war’s worst humanitarian crises.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops into the area supporting the opposition fighters holed up there, but hasn’t been able to stop the government offensive.
Russia tipped the nine-year civil war in Syrian President Bashar Assad’s favour after it joined the conflict on his side in September 2015.
Both countries have been closely coordinating over the situation in Syria in recent years, even as Turkey continues to heavily back the Syrian opposition.
In Moscow, Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Thursday with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital.
Erdogan said he hoped to broker a cease-fire in Idlib when he sees Putin to “prevent further bloodshed.” He did not elaborate.
Syria’s foreign ministry vowed that Damascus will “firmly repel Turkey’s flagrant aggression” against the country and stop Ankara’s intervention in Syria.
Early on Monday, Syrian government forces and their allies retook the key northwestern town of Saraqeb days after losing it to rebel forces.
Erdogan demanded on Monday that Syrian government forces in northwest Syria withdraw to lines determined by Turkey, adding that their losses in attacks by Turkey and rebel forces were just beginning.
“If they do not withdraw to the lines Turkey has determined as soon as possible, they will not have a head left on their shoulders,” Erdogan said.