![Asad forces advance in Idlib [Cartoon/Arabi21]](https://1buv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/regime-russia-kill-387-civilians-in-idlib-syria-middle-east-monitor.jpg)
The Syrian regime and its allies killed hundreds of civilians in northwestern Idlib city between the period of two cease-fire deals reached on Jan. 12 and March 6 by Ankara and Moscow, according to a rights watchdog, Anadolu reports. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported that aggression of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran-backed foreign terrorist groups, and Russia left 387 civilians dead. While regime […]
Idlib
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Middle East 18:46 GMT 27.03.2020Get short URL https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107864/20/1078642080_0:148:3377:2048_1200x675_80_0_0_313ac4a335e36d4efb5cb5507b41f026.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003271078733518-russia-urges-turkey-to-continue-real-separation-of-militants-from-opposition-in-idlib/ MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia expects Turkey to continue work on separating the militants from the opposition in Syria’s Idlib, as a fictitious renaming of terrorist groups is unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday. “We hope that the Turkish partners will continue efforts to dissociate the moderates from extremists, and […]
Turkey said on Thursday that one of its soldiers had died as a result of a heart attack in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, Reuters reports. The soldier was preparing for night duties on Wednesday when he had the heart attack, the defence ministry said. Earlier, the governor’s office in Turkey’s central Sivas province said one Turkish soldier had been “martyred” in Idlib. The defence ministry […]
Via Al-Masdar News, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that he believed that the Russian military was behind the killing of dozens of Turkish soldiers during an attack in Idlib earlier this month. According to statement from Pompeo, he said he believes Russia was likely behind the killing of the Turkish soldiers, which was later blamed on the Syrian Armed Forces. “We believe […]
The United States State Department yesterday slapped sanctions on Syria’s Defense Minister Imad Ali Abdullah Ayoub for his role in the violence and the disastrous humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. In a statement, the official body said sanctions have been imposed under Executive Order 13894, as a result of Ayoub’s deliberate actions since December 2019 to prevent a ceasefire from taking hold in northern Syria. “This […]
On Sunday, Turkey and Russia launched their first joint military patrols along the strategic M4 highway, which connects Syria’s east and west. The patrols are part of a ceasefire agreement reached by the two countries at the end of last week that ended a Turkish operation in retaliation for the Syrian regime’s killing of 33 Turkish troops. Russian news outlets reported that Moscow had dispatched military […]
Russia and Turkey yesterday were forced to cut short their first joint military patrol along the M4 highway linking Syria’s east and west near the north-western province of Idlib due to “rebel provocations”. The joint patrol was recently reported to have started yesterday morning, in coordination between the two armies. State-run RIA quoted the statement as saying that a number of fighters “were trying to use civilians as […]
Activists posted a new video on social media showing Syrian regime forces desecrating tombs in a cemetery in the countryside of Idlib, Arabi21.com reported on Friday. The Syrian regime forces appear in the video destroying the tombstones and insulting the dead, because they belonged to the opposition of the Syrian regime. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Basil Al-Sawadi, from the Syrian regime forces, […]
Middle East 08:30 GMT 14.03.2020(updated 08:37 GMT 14.03.2020) Get short URL https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107851/41/1078514194_0:70:3072:1798_1200x675_80_0_0_3a50e5a4222780ead92e4bb7fe481740.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003141078563747-russian-turkish-talks-in-ankara-to-allow-implementation-of-agreements-on-syrias-idlib—moscow/ Russia and Turkey inked a ceasefire deal earlier this month ensuring the cessation of hostilities between Turkish and Syrian forces in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria. The two sides established joint military patrols in the area. Russian-Turkish negotiations in Ankara were constructive and will allow the […]
Turkey and Russia have agreed on the details of a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib region after four days of talks in Ankara, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday. Joint patrols along a key highway will begin on Sunday as planned, Reuters quoted Akar as saying. Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, agreed on March 5 to halt hostilities in the country’s […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement, saying both men agreed with satisfaction that tensions in Syria’s Idlib were now significantly lower, Reuters reports. Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, last week agreed on a ceasefire to halt an escalation of violence in Idlib that displaced nearly a million people and […]
Turkish and Russian experts engaged in talks in Ankara have largely reached a consensus on the Idlib issue, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday. “Talks with a Russian military delegation continue. A consensus has largely been reached,” Anadolu news agency quoted him as saying. On March 10, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey would patrol areas north of Syria’s M4 highway and […]
The Bashar al-Assad regime is planning “death, displacement or detention” for Idlib residents in northwestern Syria, an activist said Wednesday, Anadolu reports. Mouaz Moustafa, who heads the Washington-based advocacy group, Syrian Emergency Task Force, said residents have been living in a “shrinking space” he described as “shooting fish in a bucket that keeps getting smaller.” He was speaking to reporters after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations […]
The United States is discussing with its NATO allies the potential military support that could be provided to Turkey in Syria, US envoy for Syria said. “We are looking at what NATO can do, all options on the table,” James Jeffrey said in a statement after arriving in Brussels for talks with NATO allies yesterday. However, the US official ruled out the deployment of American ground […]
The crisis in Idlib has undoubtedly been the most serious test for the resilience of Turkey-Russia relations. The military calculus and political dynamics of both sides are highly complicated and multidimensional. Turkey can’t abandon Idlib province to the far from tender mercies of the Assad regime for two reasons: the potential influx of yet more refugees across the border into Turkish territory, and the revival of […]
Turkey will take decisive action if the fragile ceasefire recently brokered between Moscow and Ankara in Idlib, Syria is broken, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned. We will not just retaliate [against] even the smallest attack here [in Idlib], we will give a much harsher response. His comments come as the US considers intervening in the standoff in northwestern Syria. Washington’s special envoy for Syria, […]
Veteran chickenhawk Lindsey Graham once again beat his over-used war drum, this time because he wants NATO to get involved in Idlib, Syria to stop “Syrian aggression.” Yes, when will Syria stop intervening in its own country? The South Carolina senator said that he fully supports US President Donald Trump’s efforts to “get NATO more involved in Syria,” arguing that the defensive alliance should aid Turkey […]
Washington’s special envoy for Syria has signaled that the US is exploring NATO involvement in Idlib, and said that any violations of the truce in the Syrian province could be punished with sanctions, according to reports. James Jeffrey arrived in Brussels on Tuesday to meet with NATO allies and discuss “ways to support Turkey’s security concerns,” the State Department said in a statement. In a conference […]
The US was willing to give Turkey intelligence regarding Syria’s Idlib, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has claimed, adding that the purchase of Russian anti-air systems won’t prevent Ankara from acquiring Patriot missiles. The senior Turkish diplomat told state-owned Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Washington had offered land, sea and air intelligence regarding the northwestern region, considered by Damascus and Moscow as the last terrorist stronghold in […]
Turkey is ready to “use force against those who violate the ceasefire” that came into force last week in north-west Syria, according to Turkish security source today. The Turkish news outlet Yeni Safak cited the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying: “The ceasefire aims to halt regime attacks that endanger the safety of Turkey and the region, and pose the risk of causing an even […]
![Children of Syrian families, who have been forcibly displaced are seen at a camp in Idlib, Syria on 14 February 2020 [Muhammed Said/Anadolu Agency]](https://1buv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/the-russia-turkey-idlib-deal-is-as-bad-as-trumps-deal-of-the-century-middle-east-monitor.jpg)
The Middle East has seen some bad deals in recent years; some are still in effect while others have crumbled. The agreement struck between Russia and Turkey last week seems that it will be one of the latter. Instead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arriving in Moscow resting on his laurels after a week of punishing Syrian regime forces in Idlib and hoping to strike a […]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that during the last month, 59 Turkish soldiers had been killed in Idlib, northwestern Syria, but he stressed that his country’s forces had neutralized, in response, 3400 soldiers of the Syrian regime’s army. Erdogan added in a speech he delivered in Antakya that “the Syrian regime’s direction of all its forces towards Idlib at a time when one-third […]
Days before he flew to Moscow to strike a ceasefire deal with Russia to halt fighting in Syria’s Idlib, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian government forces to pull back or they would not have a “head left on their shoulders”, Reuters reports. After six hours of talks with Vladimir Putin, a sombre Erdogan announced an accord which cements territorial gains by Russian-backed Syrian forces over Turkish-backed rebels. Returning […]
The UN World Food Program on Friday welcomed Turkey and Russia’s agreement on a cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib province, Anadolu Agency reports. “A relative calm is being reported there this morning after weeks of intense fighting which has created a humanitarian crisis with up to one million people displaced,” WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told journalists at the UN in Geneva. Ankara and Moscow agreed to a cease-fire effective […]