Syrian peace process not ended, but suffering damage: Çavuşoğlu

Amid continued carnage and hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing northwestern Syria, the Astana and Sochi peace processes for Syria have not completely ended but are damaged, said Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday

"Turkey disapproves of Russia excusing Assad regime attacks by saying that they can't fully control the Assad regime," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters after an Asia Anew meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Çavuşoğlu voiced concerns about the health of the Astana peace process, launched in 2017 in the former Kazakh capital, and the Sochi process, which in September 2018 established an oft-violated cease-fire for Idlib, northwestern Syria.

Last week Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's president, said Russia is not abiding by the agreements, and urged it to do so.

On Monday an Assad regime attack in Idlib, near the area Turkey has carried out anti-terrorism operations, martyred seven Turkish soldiers and one civilian contractor working with the Turkish military.

After the deadly attack, Turkey struck over 50 targets in retaliation and killed 76 Syrian soldiers, according to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

The Assad regime and its allies have consistently broken the terms of the 2018 Idlib cease-fire-including a fresh cease-fire declared on Jan. 12-by launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians.

More than one million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year, including tens of thousands last month alone.

Turkey remains the country with most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million Syrian migrants since the start of the civil war in 2011.

Idlib is currently home to some four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces from throughout the war-weary country.