Erdogan, Putin will discuss Idlib in Sochi

Turkey has failed to persuade Russia not to back looming Syrian regime assault on rebel-held province

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, officials said, amid rising international concern over a looming Syrian regime assault on a rebel-held province bordering Turkey.

“President Erdogan will meet with Mr Putin on Monday,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference yesterday.

The meeting will take place in the Russian resort city of Sochi, a senior Turkish official told AFP.

Russia-backed forces of the Syrian regime have massed around the Idlib province in recent weeks, sparking fears of an imminent air and ground attack to retake the last major opposition bastion.

UN agencies and relief organisations have warned repeatedly that such an assault could spark one of the worst humanitarian disasters of Syria’s seven-year war.

Turkey has intensified negotiations with Russia to avert a possible attack, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire.

However, Erdogan and Putin failed to agree on a ceasefire at a three-way summit in Tehran last week, which also involved Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

But Turkey backs opposition fighters seeking the ouster of the Syrian regime, and has said a large-scale offensive against the rebels could trigger a mass exodus towards its border.

Cavusoglu yesterday said Turkey was ready to cooperate with anyone in the fight against terror groups in Syria, A Syrian rebel commander said on Thursday that rare military exercises with US Marines in southern Syria sent a strong message to Russia and Iran that the Americans and the rebels intend to stay and confront threats to their presence.

Colonel Muhanad Al Talaa, commander of the Pentagon-backed Maghawir Al Thawra group, said the eight-day drills at the US military outpost in Al Tanf were the first such exercises with live-fire air and ground assault, involving hundreds of US troops and rebel fighters.

“These exercises have beefed up the area’s defences, and raised morale,” Talaa said. but criticised the Damascus regime for using the presence of extremist groups to legitimise a possible operation in Idlib.

Idlib’s most powerful armed faction is the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) extremist group, which Ankara officially designated a “terrorist” group last month.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists said residents in Idlib demonstrated against Al Assad. The activist-run Orient News channel reported protests in the town of Al Bab and the provincial capital, Idlib.

Wissam Zarqa, a university instructor, says the demonstrations started after congregational prayers yesterday. The weekend has become the customary day of protest throughout the Arab world since the 2011 uprisings that swept through the region.

Demonstrators flew the green, white and black flag of Syria’s uprising against Al Assad.