Syria demands that Turkish troops leave Idlib
The Syrian authorities demanded that Turkey immediately withdraw its military units from the north of the country, reports the Syrian state news agency SANA with a reference to an official source in the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry states that "the current [Turkish] aggression has nothing to do with the Astana arrangements between the guarantor countries", SANA reports.
According to Syrian authorities the deployment of Turkish troops in Idlib showed a close relationship between the Ankara and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.
Ankara officially announced the beginning of an operation in northern Syria on October 9. Turkish military units crossed the border with Syria on the night of October 13. The Turkish military stated that they were establishing observation posts in the province of Idlib in order to monitor the ceasefire in the area and to supervise the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The agreement on the establishment of the of de-escalation zone in the Idlib area, reached in Astana in May, was approved in September. According to the agreement, the military of three countries, Russia, Turkey and Iran, will ensure the ceasefire in the de-escalation zones.