Putin: Dramatically escalated situation in Idleb requires direct dialogue with the Turkish side

MOSCOW, (ST) Russian President Vladimir Putin has affirmed that the situation in Idleb has dramatically escalated that necessitates direct dialogue with the Turkish side which is one of the parties to the Sochi agreement on de-escalation zone in Idleb.  

“The situation in the Idlib zone has escalated so much and that requires our face-to-face conversation,” Putin said opening a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

He added that the situation in Idlib must be discussed so that similar situations never happen again in order not to destroy the Russian-Turkish relations.

Commenting on the Turkish soldiers who were killed while assisting terrorist organizations and covering their attacks in Idleb, Putin said that the Syrian and Russian soldiers had been unaware of the Turkish forces’ location.

 On Tuesday, the Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian is committed to the Sochi agreement and it supports the territorial integrity of Syria and backs Syria’s war on terrorist organizations, especially those designated as such by the Security Council. Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry affirmed that the Turkish regime blatantly violates the Sochi agreement and continues supporting and arming terrorist organizations in Idleb.

Hamda Mustafa