Syrian, Turkish armies engage in Idlib
ANKARA, Turkey — Two Turkish soldiers were killed Wednesday in a Syrian government attack in Syria’s northwest, the country’s Defense Ministry said, as steady clashes between the two national armies continued to rack up casualties.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops into the area to support Syrian insurgents there, but hasn’t been able to stop a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive to retake Idlib province.
A Syrian opposition war monitor said nine Syrian soldiers also were killed in Turkish drone attacks in the area. The Turkish Defense Ministry’s statement said the latest Syrian attack on its troops also wounded six soldiers.
The assault came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to depart for Moscow, where he said he aims to broker a cease-fire in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Turkey and Russia are the two main power brokers in Syria and each supports rival sides in the nineyear conflict.
“We expect to reach a shared view of the cause of the current crisis, its consequences and agree on a set of measures to overcome it,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the upcoming meeting.
Russian officials have said they hold Turkey responsible for the collapse of a cease-fire agreement reached in Sochi,
Russia, in 2018. They say Ankara has failed to honor the deal and rein in militants who continued attacking Syrian and Russian targets. Turkey has rejected the Russian assertion, saying Ankara was making progress against radical groups in Idlib when the Syrian government launched its offensive.
Earlier Wednesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov assailed Turkey for shielding “terrorists” in Idlib, a statement that reflected Moscow’s forceful posture ahead of the Syria talks.