Bashar Assad has a few days left to withdraw his troops to the territories defined in the Sochi agreement, the Turkish president said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the start of Turkish military operation in Syrian Idlib a matter of time. He said this during a speech at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary faction in Ankara, Anadolu reported on Wednesday, February 19.
“Operation in Idlib may begin at any time. Turkey will not leave Idlib to the Assad regime and its supporters. The regime has a few days left to stop its aggression in Idlib and retreat to the territories defined in the Sochi agreement. This is our last warning”, – Erdogan said.
The Turkish leader stressed that “Ankara is determined to turn Idlib into a safe zone for both Turkey and the people of the region at any rate.
Erdogan also noted that none of the meetings on the settlement of the situation in Idlib, previously held by Russia and Turkey, has brought tangible results.
The talks will continue, but it is clear that we are very far from reaching a common position,” he said.
Earlier, Erdogan demanded from Damascus to withdraw troops from Turkish observation posts in the province of Idlib by the end of February. He also accused Russia of violating agreements on Syria.
Turkish President threatened to violate the Sochi agreements on Idlib if the attacks by the Syrian army continue.
In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ankara of violating the Idlib agreements.