Erdogan threatens to “hit” the Syrian regime “everywhere” in Syria
02/12/2020 – CONFLICT:
Rising tensions in Idleb are starting to erode the understanding between Russia and Turkey.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Wednesday to strike the Syrian regime “everywhere” in the event of a new attack on Turkish forces, at a time when escalating tensions are giving rise to acrimonious exchanges between Ankara and Moscow. The province of Idleb, in north-west Syria, is at the heart of these tensions: despite an de-escalation agreement between Ankara and Moscow, the regime has been conducting an offensive there for several months, with the support of Russian aviation.
To the humanitarian disaster – around 700,000 people fled the offensive – was added an unprecedented crisis between Ankara and Damascus, after the death of 14 Turkish soldiers in a week in bombing of Syrian artillery. In a vitriolic speech in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan threatened to “strike the regime everywhere” in Syria if there is a new attack on Turkish forces in Idleb. He also reiterated an ultimatum to the regime urging him to withdraw from certain positions in Idleb by the end of February, threatening to force him into doing so “by doing whatever is necessary, on the ground and in the air”. Damascus rejected the Turkish threats, calling them “hollow and ignoble statements that can only come from a person disconnected from reality”.
In recent days, Turkey has considerably strengthened its military presence in the province of Idleb, where the regime and Russia have recorded gains against rebel and jihadist groups in recent weeks.
Ankara-Moscow tensions
Ankara has taken a close interest in Idleb because of its proximity to the Turkish border, fearing that the Syrian regime’s offensive will cause a new influx of refugees to Turkey, which already hosts 3.7 million Syrians.
Rising tensions in Idleb have also started to erode the understanding between Russia and Turkey, which, despite their conflicting interests in Syria, have strengthened their cooperation since 2016. Fruit of this partnership and good relations between M Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Ankara and Moscow notably sponsored in 2018 an agreement providing for the cessation of hostilities in Idleb.
Breaking from his usual restraint when it comes to Russia, Erdogan accused Moscow on Wednesday of taking part in the “massacre” of civilians alongside the regime’s forces in Idleb and denounced the “broken promises” . Shortly after, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov accused Turkey of doing nothing to “neutralize the terrorists in Idleb”, a situation he deemed “unacceptable”. Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Erdogan’s accusations, noting that Moscow and Ankara had “divergent interpretations” regarding the situation in Idleb. In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry blamed Turkey for the “Idleb crisis”, accusing Ankara of “failing to meet its obligations to separate fighters from the (Syrian) moderate opposition” from those of jihadist groups.
The last stronghold of opposition to Mr. Assad after nearly nine years of a conflict that has killed more than 380,000 people and millions of refugees, the province of Idleb is dominated by jihadist groups. Damascus and Moscow claim to be fighting “terrorists” there, but Erdogan accused them of targeting “mainly civilians” in order to push populations towards the Turkish border.
A sign, however, that Ankara wishes to maintain dialogue with Moscow, the head of Turkish diplomacy announced the dispatch in the coming days of a delegation to Russia to try to find a solution to the Idleb crisis.
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