Middle East

Turkey Won’t Draw in Horns in Idlib, Or Else Will Be Flooded With Refugees, US Envoy Says

06/03/2020

Turkey Won’t Draw in Horns in Idlib, Or Else Will Be Flooded With Refugees, US Envoy Says

by Lilia Dergacheva
06.03.2020
On Thursday, 5 March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the escalation of the Syrian conflict in Idlib, inking a ceasefire agreement and agreeing on a humanitarian corridor leading to the north and south of the embattled province.
If violence is ever going to cease in the Syrian province of Idlib, one of the four formally demilitarised zones, it will likely have to be Turkey spearheading this, according to US Ambassador James Jeffrey, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, cited by CBS.
“What the Turks are saying now and we support them 100% is there cannot be such ceasefires anymore. They have to be real. They have to be enduring. There has to be a line on the ground that nobody violates”, he told the edition, referencing Turkey’s latest offensive in Syria and the ceasefire deal inked by Ankara and Moscow.
Read more at https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003061078489399-turkey-wont-draw-in-horns-in-idlib-or-else-will-be-flooded-with-refugees-us-envoy-says/

U.S. divided over support for Turkey in Syria, Jeffrey says

By Daren Butler
March 5, 2020

There is no unanimity in Washington over support for Turkey in Syria’s Idlib because of Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems, U.S. envoy James Jeffrey said on Thursday.
Fighting in Idlib has intensified in recent weeks as Russia-backed Syrian government forces mounted an offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion in the country, displacing nearly a million people.
Turkey, which backs rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has launched a counter-offensive and asked its NATO allies for support, including a request to the United States to use U.S. Patriot missile defense systems.
However, Washington and Ankara have been at odds over Turkey’s purchase of the Russian missile systems, which Washington says are not compatible with NATO defenses and may compromise its F-35 stealth fighter jets.
Read more at https://news.yahoo.com/turkeys-400-purchase-serious-concern-083354224.html