Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, following a worrying rise in violence between Turkish forces and Russia’s Syrian allies.
Ankara has confirmed that Erdogan will make the trip to Moscow on March 5. The Kremlin had announced on Sunday that it was hoping to arrange a meeting between Erdogan and Putin in an effort to resolve the situation in Syria’s Idlib region. The visit is expected to last for one day only.
Last week, 34 Turkish troops were reportedly killed by Syrian air strikes, prompting a military response from Ankara. Russia said Turkish personnel were present alongside terrorist units being bombed by Damascus, and that Ankara had failed to properly notify Moscow about its troop movements. The situation has continued to deteriorate, with both sides claiming to have inflicted high numbers of casualties on one another.
Damascus and Moscow view Idlib as the last terrorist stronghold in Syria. Hostilities there have all but ruined Turkey’s 2018 agreement with Russia on de-escalating violence.
After a phone call with Putin last week, Erdogan said he wants Russia to “leave us face to face with the regime,” referring to Damascus.
Source: RT
