Erdogan-Putin Meet in Moscow Talking About Idlib Ceasefire

Moscow, MINA – Turkish President Erdogan and Russian President Putin met in Moscow on Thursday, March 5 for talking about ceasefire agreement in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Fighting between Turkish and Syrian government forces in the last stronghold of the opposition has intensified, thus quoted from Al Jazeera on Friday, March 6.

Last week, Turkey and its support militias united to launch military operations in the region, after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in air strikes by Russian-backed Syrian troops.

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and several others injured on Wednesday in a new Syrian attack, which prompted the Ankara Government to retaliate by attacking military targets.

On Thursday, Russian airstrikes on Idlib killed 16 civilians, according to the Syrian civil defense group, while the Turkish Ministry of Defense said 184 Syrian government forces were killed in the past 24 hours.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said talks with Russia about the remaining opposition in Syria had failed to end the agreement and he warned that military operations were only “a matter of time”.

“We will not hand over Idlib to the (Syrian) regime, which does not understand the determination of our country, and those who support it,” Erdogan said.

Analysts assess, if a solution is not reached in Moscow, it will further complicate the Syrian crisis and risk an agreement made between the two parties previously to this day. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)