Russia and Turkey launch first joint air raids against Isis

SYRIA: Russia and Turkey yesterday joined forces for the first time to stage air strikes against Isis, marking a highly unusual military partnership between a Nato member and Moscow.

The strikes took place on al-Bab in Aleppo province, in an area Turkish troops and Syrian rebels are trying to oust Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants.

Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian defence ministry official, said it was the first time the air forces of Ankara and Moscow had teamed up in this way. He added that nine Russian and eight Turkish planes took part in the raid, which ‘‘destroyed’’ 36 unidentified targets. Turkey, which has the second-largest standing military force in Nato, may invoke the wrath of the alliance for its operation with a hostile air force.

The operation demonstrates a warming of relations between Moscow, which backs the regime of Bashar al-Assad regime, and Ankara, which has supported his foes. Such co-operation would have been unthinkable last year, after Turkey shot down a Russian jet on the Syrian border and the two cut all military ties. Russia imposed sanctions on Turkey and stopped all flights to the country until President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologised to President Vladimir Putin for the incident last June. Since then, the two have negotiated an end to fighting in Aleppo and agreed a nationwide ceasefire, which has largely held since it came into force on December 30.

The truce was reached without the United States, which was once the opposition’s main backer.

- Telegraph Group