Contents tagged with turkey

  • Erdogan asks NATO for help in Syria

    Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he had requested additional assistance from the alliance in connection with the current situation in Syria's Idlib. According to him, the situation in Syria threatens all European countries.

    “No country in Europe has the right to look indifferently at the humanitarian drama in Syria. We expect NATO to show solidarity and additional assistance,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey is …

  • Erdogan threatens to resume military operation in Idlib

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey reserves the right to unilateral actions in Syria in order to achieve the objectives of Operation Spring Shield if Moscow fails to meet its obligations, reports the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

    "We have made an agreement with Russia to resolve the crisis in Idlib without further bloodshed. Otherwise, we will continue on the path that we have identified," Erdogan said , as quoted by NTV TV channel.

    He noted that 59 Turkish servicemen were …

  • Assad and Haftar join forces to oppose Erdogan

    Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has entered into a military and political alliance with Libyan Field Marshal Haftar to jointly oppose Turkey's armed intervention, reports the French newspaper Le Monde.

    According to the newspaper, a new military and political axis of Damascus-Benghazi is being formed. It is "a sign of the growing expansion of the Syrian and Libyan theatres of war with serious implications for regional geopolitics."

    On Tuesday, March 3, the unrecognized Eastern Libya’s government, …

  • Erdogan: Turkey will deploy Russian S-300 air defense systems in April

    Ankara, which is fighting in Idlib with the Syrian army, requested patriot air defense systems from the American authorities, confirmed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    At the same time, the Turkish President stressed that the country will not give up the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems purchased from the Russian Federation. They will be put on combat duty in April, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak quotes Erdogan as saying. …

  • Erdogan and Putin agree on ceasefire in Syria

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reached an agreement aimed at ending fighting in Syria's Idlib province.

    After talks in Moscow on Thursday, the two leaders announced a truce that will take effect in the region at midnight.

    "Our task is to prevent the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the region. We will make every effort to provide the necessary assistance to all those in need, and we will also ensure that refugees return to their homes," …

  • Turkey refuses to recognize April elections to Syrian parliament

    Turkey will not recognize the elections to the Syrian parliament, which the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, wants to hold in April this year, said Turkish presidential advisor Ibrahim Kalin, as cited by Anadolu agency.

    He noted that the upcoming elections will not be legitimate for Ankara, Damascus or the international community.

    The day before, Assad signed a decree to hold elections to the People's Council (unicameral parliament) of the country on April 13, 2020.

    The conflict between …

  • Turkey destroys another Russian-made Pantsir air defense system in Sirya

    The Turkish Air Force has destroyed another Russian-made anti-aircraft missile system Pantsir-S1, reports the Russian news outlet Rosbalt.

    This is the third such incident since the beginning of the Turkish military campaign in Syria and Libya.

    A video  showing the Pantsir-S1 being destroyed was posted on Twitter. According to unconfirmed reports, it happened in northwestern Syria.

    According to other sources, the incident happened in Libya. The Russian air defense system was delivered to …

  • Kremlin admits possibility of direct clash with Turkey in Syria

    The sharp escalation in northern Syria, where Turkey is conducting operation the Spring Shield in an attempt to push back Bashar al-Assad's forces and block hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring through the Turkish border, carries the risks of a direct clash between Russian and Turkish military, the Kremlin acknowledged on Tuesday.

    When asked by journalists what is the probability that the Russian and Turkish military will enter into a real confrontation in Idlib, Russian presidential …

  • Syria suspends flights over Idlib

    The Syrian army has suspended flights in the northwest of the country after one plane was shot down by Turkey, reports the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

    The agency claims it has obtained an audio recording of the conversations of the Syrian pilots.

    According to Anadolu, as soon as the first plane was attacked, the dispatcher contacted the pilot of the second plane, which was in northwestern Syria at the time.

    "Hawk-12 was shot down," the air traffic controller told the pilot of the plane, …

  • Russian media: Turkish combat drones are a big problem for Assad Forces in Syria

    The Turkish Air Force, in particular drones, have become a real problem for Syrian troops over the past two weeks, reports the popular Russian publication "Moskovskij Komsomolets". The author, citing Turkish media, writes that Turkish drones destroyed at least 22 Syrian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, 13 122-mm Gvozdika and 152-mm Acacia self-propelled howitzers during this period.

    The article states that Turkish Air Force drones destroyed at least 55 tanks: 13 T-55, 7 T-62, 23 T-72, one T-90 …