Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian government forces in Idlib to pull back behind a line of Turkish observation posts by the end of this month. He also warned that if they did not do so, Ankara would drive them back.
“If the Syrian regime will not retreat from Turkish observation posts in Idlib in February, Turkey will be obliged to take matters into its own hands. Turkey’s air and land forces will move freely in all operation areas [in Syria] and in Idlib, and they will conduct operations if needed”, he said.
His warning comes two days after Turkish soldiers were killed by shelling in the region, to which the Turkish military responded in retaliation. Erdogan said two of the Turkish posts were now behind the Syrian government front line.
Turkey has 12 observation posts in Syria under the 2018 deal with Russia, who supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which Turkey opposes.
Turkey and Russia agreed in 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone, where acts of aggression are prohibited. However, the Syrian government and its allies have consistently violated the ceasefire.
“From now we will not turn a blind eye to any step that constitutes the violation of the agreements”, Erdogan said.
