Turkey calls on Russia to immediately stop regime attacks on rebel-held Idlib

Turkey expects Russia to stop the Assad regime attacks in the northwestern region of Idlib immediately, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Thursday, adding that Ankara needs to work with Moscow to resolve problems in the region.

Shelling by Assad forces killed eight Turkish personnel on Monday, prompting a retaliation. The escalation disrupted a fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing sides in the conflict, raising concerns over future collaboration.

In televised comments to reporters in Baku, Çavuşoğlu said a Russian delegation would come to Turkey to discuss Idlib, adding Erdoğan may hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after those talks if necessary.

"Our expectation from the (Syrian) regime's guarantors, and specifically Russia here, is to immediately stop the regime. We are discussing these issues with Russia, with whom we have worked with until now," Çavuşoğlu said.

"We conveyed our determination to our Russian counterparts," he said adding Ankara was determined to stem the "humanitarian drama" in Idlib.

"Our target on the ground in Idlib is not Russia," he said.

"Who carried out the attack there? It is the regime. Who attacked our soldiers? It's the regime ... Who harassed our observation posts? It is the regime."

"We should continue working together with Russia. If we are to solve problems there, we will solve them together," added Çavuşoğlu.

Erdoğan on Wednesday urged Syria to withdraw its troops from Turkey's military observation posts in Idlib, warning that Turkey would take matters into its own hands if this was not done by the end of February.

Under a 2018 deal with Moscow, Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib aimed at preventing a regime offensive.

The outposts at Morek and Surman are now encircled by regime forces, and Turkish troops at another post in Saraqeb shelled Syrian forces on Wednesday to prevent it also being surrounded, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Turkey has yet to comment on clashes at Saraqeb, but Çavuşoğlu said it would not allow "aggression" by Assad's forces.

"Of course there is a limit to our patience. After we had eight martyrs, we retaliated... If the regime keeps on its aggression, we will not stop there," he said.

The violence in Idlib, the last major rebel-held stronghold in the country's nearly nine-year war, has accelerated in recent months despite several ceasefire efforts, including as recently as January, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

The United Nations says 520,000 people have been displaced since early December and the numbers could increase.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that Russian and Turkish "military specialists" were killed by militants who staged more than 1,000 attacks in Idlib in late January, adding that Moscow would continue to coordinate with Ankara and Tehran.

Erdoğan has said Moscow, which backs Bashar al-Assad, and Ankara, which supports rebels trying to oust him, should resolve the conflict "without anger".
Erdoğan and Putin agreed to improve coordination of their countries' actions in Syria during a phone call earlier this week.