Erdogan Hints Might Challenge Russian Control of Syria Skies
Erdogan Signals Might Challenge Russian Control of Syrian Skies
(Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday signaled he may try to challenge Russian control of Syrian air space, saying he was looking for ways to strike attacking Syrian government forces from their own skies.
In a speech Wednesday to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, Erdogan noted that an end-February deadline is nearing for Russian-backed Syrian forces to retreat in the northwestern province of Idlib, the last opposition stronghold. More than a dozen Turkish soldiers stationed in Idlib under a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran have been killed in Syrian government assaults this month.
“Our problem is that we can’t use the airspace right now,” Erdogan said. “God willing, we will find a way out on that soon,” he added, without elaborating.
It was unclear whether Turkish F-16s would target Syrian forces from within Turkish borders. In any event, Erdogan would be alone in any such confrontation: The Turkish leader said separately that his request for U.S. Patriot air-defense missiles to back any Turkish airstrikes isn’t likely to be fulfilled.
“The U.S. has no Patriots to give us right now,” state-run Anadolu news agency cited him as saying on his way back from Azerbaijan on Tuesday. “There was a promise of U.S. support when I spoke with Trump but there has been no support so far, it seems that I will have to speak with him again.”
Turkey has massed about 10,000 troops in Idlib in its biggest move to counter the Syrian government offensive, adding to the nation’s geopolitical risks. The Syrian military drive leaves rebels and civilians in the crossfire with little room to flee inside Syria as President Bashar al-Assad seeks to capture the province and declare victory in the nine-year civil war.
The conflict over the opposition stronghold raises the specter of enormous bloodshed and a massive refugee exodus toward neighboring Turkey. It also pits Turkey against Russia, after the two countries worked for years to contain the havoc of the war.
On Wednesday, Erdogan threatened to use force if his end-month pullback ultimatum is ignored.
“We will not take a slightest step back,” Erdogan said. “We will definitely push the regime forces from the borders we’ve determined and enable people return to their homes.”
Turkey has already absorbed 3.6 million refugees from Syria, more than any other country, with all the social and economic strains that entails. Idlib’s population has nearly tripled since the war dislocated half of Syrian’s prewar population of 21 million.
With approximately 3 million people now living there, and close to a million forced from their homes in recent months by Russian airstrikes and regime artillery, Turkey fears a massive new wave of newcomers. It’s frantically building shelters within Syria and doesn’t plan to let more refugees cross the frontier. One of Turkey’s main concerns is that jihadists could pose as civilians and constitute a security threat if allowed inside its borders.
To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky
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