Erdogan complains to Putin about Assad
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the fighting in Idlib threatens Turkey's national security, reports Anadolu News Agency.
The Turkish president noted that the escalation of the conflict in Idlib also undermines the possibility of a peaceful settlement. In his opinion, the actions of Assad’s army lead to a humanitarian disaster. Erdogan and Putin also discussed the Russian-Turkish relations and the situation in Libya.
Earlier, it became known that the Syrian army is tightening the circle on the border of the Idlib and Hama provinces, where militants were located. The military continues the "stifling siege" of several settlements to the South of the city of Khan Shaykhun .
On August 22, it was reported that the Syrian army occupied the vital city of Khan Shaykhun in the South of the Syrian province of Idlib. A Turkish observation post is located in the town of Morek that is not controlled by the Syrians.
On August 20, it was reported that fighters retreated from Khan Shaykhun to avoid being encircled by government troops . As a result, the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gained control over the key city, which the rebels previously held for five years.
The de-escalation zone in Idlib is one of the four de-escalation zones in Syria. Russia and Turkey established it in 2017. The de-escalation zone in Idlib is still not demilitarized and is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants grouping and the armed Syrian opposition. The civil war in Syria started in the Spring of 2011.