A Russian delegation has left the Turkish capital Ankara without reaching an agreement on the tense situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. There, the Syrian and Turkish army have regularly attacked each other over the past week, with several deaths on both sides.
The negotiations started on Saturday and were concluded on Monday without an agreement. On Monday, firefights broke out again between Turkish and Syrian soldiers. Turkey has indicated to Russian diplomats that attacks by the Syrian military will lead to reprisals.
Now that the Turkish-Russian ceasefire has fallen in the Syrian province of Idlib, violence is increasing. At least 700,000 Syrians have fled. Tensions between Turkey and Syria increased again on Tuesday. Government troops of Syrian President Assad captured the last part of a strategic highway in the northwestern province of Idlib from Syrian rebels. They are supported by Turkey.
Turkey is responsible for improving the situation in Idlib, as stated in the Sochi agreement. A summit between Putin and Erdoğan is not currently planned. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the Assad regime and Russia to stop their attacks on Idlib. The NATO summit on Wednesday and Thursday will also discuss the fight against IS.
Earlier this week, there were also confrontations between Ankara and Damascus. The shelling back and forth marks the end of a cease-fire that Turkey and Russia settled in 2018 for the province of Idlib. Although Ankara supports the Syrian rebels and Moscow is holding the Assad government in place, both parties have been working behind the scenes on several occasions to find a political solution. Thus, two years ago, Ankara and Moscow agreed that a de-escalation zone was set up around Idlib to stop the violence. That has now finally come to an end.
Russia supports the Syrian government army in the fight against militants in Idlib. That is the last province that is still partly controlled by jihadists. The Syrian army is on the rise, leaving around 700,000 people flee to Turkey.