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 killed in Syria in the past month, and Ankara "neutralized" 3.4 thousand "elements of the regime (of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad)”.
After talks in Moscow on Thursday, the Erdogan and Putin announced a truce that which took effect in the region the following day 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," Russia's Interfax quoted Erdogan as saying.
At the same time, Erdogan stressed that Turkey reserves the right to retaliate in the event of an attack by Syrian government forces. Erdogan promised that Turkey would be in contact with Russia on this issue.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the talks that an agreement had also been reached create of a 12-kilometer security corridor along the M4 highway. According to the minister, "specific parameters of the security corridor will be agreed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Republic of Turkey within seven days."
In addition, Lavrov said, an agreement was reached to begin joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the M4 highway on March 15 “from the town of Trumba, located two kilometers west of Saraqib, to the settlement of Ain al-Habr".
Erdogan stated that there is a need to change the status of the Idlib de-escalation zone, Turkish Anadolu New Agency reported.
"The formation of a new status quo in the Idlib de-escalation zone is inevitable against the background of tragic events resulting from attacks by Assad supporters, which also led to the death of Turkish soldiers," Erdogan said.
Erdogan stressed that all responsibility for the violation of the Idlib agreements lies with supporters of Bashar al-Assad. According to him, it was the aggressive actions of Assad's supporters that destabilized the region.
"Turkey is determined to continue implementing the peace initiatives, including the Sochi agreements, until a solution to the crisis in Syria is found, based on the territorial integrity and political unity of this country," Erdogan said.
Talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, face to face and after with the Russian and Turkish representatives, lasted 5 hours and 40 minutes in the Kremlin.