A Russian delegation has left the Turkish capital Ankara without reaching an agreement on the tense situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. Over the past week, the Syrian and Turkish armies have regularly fired on each other there, resulting in multiple fatalities on both sides.
The negotiations began on Saturday and concluded on Monday without an agreement. On Monday, clashes broke out again between Turkish and Syrian soldiers. Turkey informed the Russian diplomats that attacks by Syrian forces would lead to retaliations.
With the Turkish-Russian ceasefire in the Syrian province of Idlib broken, violence is increasing. At least 700,000 Syrians have fled. Tensions between Turkey and Syria rose again on Tuesday. Government troops of Syrian President Assad seized the last part of a strategic highway in the northwestern province of Idlib from Syrian rebels, who are supported by Turkey.
Turkey is responsible for improving the situation in Idlib, as stated in the Sochi agreement. Currently, no summit between Putin and ErdoÄŸan is planned. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the Assad regime and Russia to halt their attacks on Idlib. The NATO summit on Wednesday and Thursday will also discuss the fight against ISIS.
Earlier this week, there were also confrontations between Ankara and Damascus. The crossfire marks the end of a ceasefire that Turkey and Russia established in 2018 for the province of Idlib. While Ankara supports the Syrian rebels and Moscow backs Assad’s government, both parties have repeatedly worked behind the scenes toward a political solution. As a result, Ankara and Moscow agreed two years ago to establish a de-escalation zone around Idlib to halt the violence. That has now definitively come to an end.
Russia supports the Syrian government army in the fight against militants in Idlib, the last province partly controlled by jihadists. The Syrian army is on the advance, causing about 700,000 people to flee toward Turkey.