Turkey Presses Russia to Restrain Assad’s Attacks on Idlib
Turkey Presses Russia to Restrain Assad's Attacks on Idlib
(Bloomberg) -- Turkey wants Russia to restrain intensified Syrian government assaults in that nation’s last rebel-held province, a senior security official said, days after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces shelled Turkish troops assigned to monitor a truce there.
The advance on the northwest province of Idlib by Russian-backed Syrian government forces has created strains with Moscow at a critical moment for Turkey, as it weighs risking U.S. sanctions by taking delivery of a Russian missile-defense system.
Ties with the U.S., a NATO ally, have been hit by a series of disputes, but President Donald Trump bolstered Turkey’s call for a de-escalation with a Twitter post calling on Iran, Russia and Syria to stop bombing civilians.
Assad’s forces stepped up artillery and aerial bombardments in Idlib, which borders Turkey, in an attempt to undermine the truce Russia and Turkey agreed to last year to hold back a Syrian government advance, according to the Turkish official, who asked not to be identified discussing Turkey’s stance on a sensitive issue.
Turkey has set up several military checkpoints in the area under the deal and some of those came under shelling from Assad’s forces in recent weeks.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said Turkish troops won’t retreat, and that his top general reminded his Russian counterparts of a shared responsibility to maintain stability in the area.
Turkey says it wants to buy Russia’s S-400 air defense system to protect its broader economic and security interests in the eastern Mediterranean. In response, the U.S. has threatened to impose penalties on Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and eject it from the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program.
Despite their differences over the future of the central government in Syria, Turkey and Russia remain allies in Syria, while the U.S. has supported Syrian Kurdish groups that Turkey considers terrorists.
To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, ;Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, ;Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark Williams
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