Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to clear the sky over Syria for air strikes.
He made this statement on Wednesday, February 26, speaking at a meeting of the parliamentary faction of the Justice and Development Party, of which he is the leader.
Erdogan stressed that he did not intend to concede on issues related to the situation in Idlib, despite the fact that it entails a fierce armed confrontation.
“The biggest problem so far is that Turkish troops cannot use air space in Syria. There is hope that this issue will be resolved soon”, – the president said.
He once again demanded from the Syrian government to withdraw its troops beyond the line of demarcation, which is stipulated in the Sochi agreements. Erdogan noted that “the deadline given to Assad is over”.
“The time that Turkey has given to those who have blocked our observation posts in the Idlib de-escalation zone is running out. Turkey intends to break the blockade in any case. We will be ready to start this operation by the end of February”, – stated the President.
As News Front reported earlier, not everyone in Turkish military circles shares Erdogan’s plans. Generals are well aware that the escalation of tension in Syria may turn into a direct clash of the Turkish army with the Russian one. At the same time, they admit in Ankara that Erdogan is playing along with the U.S., sacrificing, however, the interests of Turkey itself.