Two weeks after Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached a peace agreement on Syrian Idlib, Washington is again trying to stir up a confrontation.
The head of the U.S. State Department, Michael Pompeo, came down on Russia with provocative and unproven accusations, claiming that it was the Russian military that was responsible for the deaths of Turkish fighters. Moreover, he recalled that Turkey is a U.S. partner in the North Atlantic Alliance and even promised the support that Erdogan asked in vain back in February during the active phase of hostilities.
“We argue that it is the Russian side that is responsible for the killing of dozens of Turkish soldiers during military operations”, – Pompeo said. – “We are ready to support Turkey as a NATO partner. We are ready to consider additional measures to support Turkey and end violence in Idlib and throughout Syria.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided in February to take a risky military adventure in the de-escalation zone of Idlib, News Front reported earlier. He sent troops in support of illegal armed groups to force the Syrian army to retreat. However, the operation got bogged down, NATO refused to provide support, and Russia made it clear that it would continue to help liberate Syria. Erdogan eventually gauged his ambitions and went to talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on March 5. Then the parties came to an agreement to settle the situation, and a silence regime was introduced in Idlib.
It is important to note that the U.S. showed from the very beginning that it was against the deal between Putin and Erdogan. Thus, it was the U.S. representatives who blocked the statement of the UN Security Council, demonstrating the commitment of the Security Council to a peaceful settlement of the situation in Syrian Idlib. With this demarche, the U.S. has tellingly deprived Moscow of support from the organization in the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements.