Turkey Summons Russian, Iranian Ambassadors Over Syrian Regime's Idlib Ceasefire Violations
21 January 2018Various Agenices
Turkey has summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to protest the Assad
regime's violations of de-escalation zone borders in Syria's Idlib in recent
days, the Turkish foreign ministry said Tuesday.
According to diplomatic sources, Turkey informed Russia and Iran about its
concerns over the Assad regime's violations of the de-escalation agreement in
Idlib.
The foreign ministry told Russia's Ambassador to Ankara Alexei Yerkhov that
the violations must end until the 'Syrian National Dialogue Congress' is held
on January 29.
Turkey considers the regime attacks as not simple ceasefire violations but as
serious violations of the borders agreed upon during the Astana process by the
three guarantor countries, the sources said.
Attacks on the moderate opposition by Syria's Bashar Assad's regime forces in
Idlib province harm the efforts to reach a political solution, Foreign
Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had said earlier in the day.
'With the excuse of al-Nusra, the regime is targeting the moderate opposition.
This damages the process of political resolution. The parties that will
convene in Sochi should not do this,' Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Ankara ahead
of the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) group meeting in Parliament.
Çavuşoğlu's comments came a day after Syrian regime forces captured 14
villages as they advanced on the largest moderate opposition-held enclave in
the country's north amid a wave of airstrikes. The troops aim to reach an
opposition-held air base in Idlib province and secure the road linking the
capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest.
As part of the de-escalation zones, agreed in a tripartite consensus between
Turkey, Russia, and Iran, Turkish forces are also currently in Syria's Idlib
province, which is also bordering the YPG-held Afrin region, monitoring the
process in the military posts set up in the province.
The advancement of the regime forces may also lead to nearing of the Syrian
troops with the monitoring of the Turkish forces. How far the regime forces
will advance and how the interaction between Turkish forces, backing the
moderate opposition, will be, also remains as an unanswered question at the
moment.
Russian Bases In Syria Attacked With Drones, Defense Ministry Says
Russia said on Monday its naval and air bases in Syria were attacked using
drones on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry said there were no casualties or damage as a
result of the attacks, which involved thirteen armed drones, on its Hemeimeem
air base and Tartus naval base in western Syria, the agencies reported.
Russian forces were able to overpower radio signals for some of the drones and
gain control of them during the incident on Friday night, the Defence Ministry
said in a statement.
Other drones were destroyed with missiles, the statement said, adding that the
drones were carrying foreign, professionally manufactured explosives.
The ministry said last week that two Russian service personnel were killed in
a mortar attack on the Hemeimeem base on Dec. 31.
Russia — the main backer of the Assad regime — intervened in Syrian conflict
in 2015. Since then the regime had been able to take control of most of the
territories previously held by the opposition, Daesh or other terror groups.
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