Putin should tell Erdogan to get out of Syria

 Putin should tell Erdogan to get out of Syria 

World » Asia » Syria

Author: Lyuba Lulko

The only thing that Vladimir Putin can say to his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan on March 5 in Moscow is: "If you are not a fool, then stop doing everything that you do in Idlib," expert Vladimir Anokhin believes.

Defense Ministry makes harsh statement on Idlib

The Russian Defense Ministry made a tough statement on the eve of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan on March 5. According to the spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, following 18 months of the Sochi Accords on Syria with Turkey, terrorists started merging their occupied areas with Turkish observation posts, which were created as a result of the Sochi Accords on de-escalation in the Syrian province of Idlib.

The Sochi Accords provided for the disengagement and ousting of terrorists from external borders of the de-escalation zone 15-20 kilometers inland and the withdrawal of heavy artillery hardware from the region.

"Instead, Khayyat Tahrir al-Sham,* the Islamic Party of Turkestan*, and Khoras ad-Din,* which the UN officially recognizes as terrorist groups, ousted all militants of the "moderate opposition" to the north, towards the border with Turkey," said Konashenkov.

The shelling of the the Russian Air Force base in Khmeimim started happening on a daily basis, while Turkey, in violation of international law, transferred its units to Idlib, and nobody in the West seems to notice that.

Turkey Threatens to Murder Another Russian Ambassador…’Fool me Once…’

By

 Sputnik News - Russia

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February 14, 2020

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ANKARA (Sputnik) – Escalation in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib has triggered anti-Russian sentiment on Turkish social media, Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Aleksei Erkhov, said in an interview with Sputnik on Thursday, adding that he also has been threatened.

Murder of Ambassador Karalov by Turkish police officer, Mevlut Mert Altinas, a member of Erdogan’s political party who says this was revenge for Russian aid against al Qaeda, Turkey’s ally against the Syrian people

“By the way, all this [anti-Russian sentiments] happened once, five years ago, in media and on social networks, only it was in Aleppo instead of Idlib. How did it end? [With an] ‘Aircraft crisis’ and the outrageous murder of [Russian] Ambassador Andrey Karlov. I also have already been directly threatened,” Erkhov noted.

The ambassador pointed out that blog posts were full of the kind of anger and hatred that discourages people to think logically and understand thier Russian partner’s actions, increasing the danger.

“THERE IS ABSOLUTE RELUCTANCE TO UNDERSTAND THE PARTNER, LOGIC OF THEIR ACTIONS, TO LISTEN TO THEIR WORDS AND TAKE FOR GRANTED THEIR RIGHT TO OWN A POINT OF VIEW, DIFFERENT FROM YOUR VISION, OF WHAT IS HAPPENING. THAT KIND OF ATTITUDE CAN TURN INTO BIG TROUBLE,” THE DIPLOMAT NOTED.

Situation in Idlib

Regarding the ongoing escalation in Idlib, Erkhov described a withdrawal of Syrian armed forces from the province as ‘unlikely’.

“THE SYRIAN ARMY IS FIGHTING ON ITS OWN SOVEREIGN TERRITORY FOR THE RIGHTS OF ITS PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO LIVE THE WAY THEIR FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS USED TO LIVE, AND NOT BY RULES IMPOSED BY SOME BEARDED OUTLANDERS. SO IT HAS LIBERATED DOZENS OF VILLAGES FROM THE ILLEGAL ARMED GROUPS, AS WELL AS THE STRATEGIC М5 HIGHWAY, IN RECENT DAYS, AND IT IS UNLIKELY FOR SOMEONE TO BE CAPABLE OF TURNING BACK THE ADVANCING ARMY,” ERKHOV SAID.

He also addressed the issue of the Turkish observation points.

“WHEN WE AGREED IN SOCHI ON THEIR CONTINUED EXISTENCE WE MEANT THAT THEY WOULD MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CEASEFIRE AND THE AGREEMENTS, COMMITTED TO THE MEMORANDUM. BUT THE AGREEMENTS ARE NOT FULFILLED, COMBAT IS STILL GOING ON, AND THUS A QUESTION EMERGES: WHY DO WE CONDUCT THIS SO-CALLED MONITORING? WHAT FUNCTIONS DO THESE INSTALLATIONS, WHICH ARE ESSENTIALLY WHAT IS CALLED ‘DEFENDED POSITIONS’ IN THE MILITARY PARLANCE, PERFORM?” THE AMBASSADOR ADDED.

Tensions in Idlib, one of four de-escalation zones in Syria, intensified last week after the Turkish Defence Ministry said eight Turkish military personnel and a civilian died in shelling by Syrian troops on Turkey’s observation post in the province. As a result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to take retaliatory measures if Syria’s armed forces failed to stop their operation in the zone and withdraw from areas close to Turkish observation posts by the end of February. In addition, Erdogan said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pressure the Syrian government into stopping its Idlib offensive.

Moscow has urged Ankara to comply with existing agreements on Idlib and expressed its regret over the Turkey’s failure to dissociate armed opposition from terrorists. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Erdogan’s decision to ask NATO for support against the Syrian army in Idlib.

In May 2017, warring parties held talks in the Kazakh capital of Nur Sultan (formerly Astana) under the mediation of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, and concluded a ceasefire agreement and established four de-escalation zones. The Sochi agreement, brokered in September 2018 by Putin and Turkish counterpart Erdogan, created a demilitarized zone along the contact line between the armed opposition and government forces in Idlib. Under the terms of the deal, militants must withdraw from this zone.