Erdogan’s Syria Deal With Putin Leaves Turkey Bases Besieged
Erdogan’s Syria Deal With Putin Leaves Turkish Military Besieged
(Bloomberg) --
Turkey’s military outposts in Syria remain surrounded by Syrian forces under a cease-fire agreed with Russia despite a pledge by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end the siege of his troops that triggered the region’s worst fighting in months.
Erdogan also failed to gain more territory to resettle refugees who fled the fighting in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province as part of the pact negotiated with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Instead, Syrian troops will retain control of some ground they have retaken in recent weeks, and rebel forces may have to give up territory south of a new security zone.
Seven of Turkey’s 12 outposts are still encircled by Syrian forces and about 3 million civilians are stuck in a smaller area of Idlib, risking a new refugee exodus, said Turkish officials who have direct knowledge of the country’s Syria policy. Erdogan, speaking during his return to Turkey late Thursday, said Turkish observation posts in Idlib will remain in their places, local media reported.
“All these situations will be preserved as they are,” he said, according to the reports. “It is out of the question to make a change at the moment.”
The truce accord struck by Putin and Erdogan after six hours of talks followed weeks of fierce clashes between NATO member Turkey and Russia-backed Syrian forces trying to retake the country’s last rebel stronghold. Turkey opposes the Syrian advance, fearing the fall of Idlib will trigger a new wave of refugees fleeing toward its border. Faced with the threat, Erdogan said he had opened Turkey’s borders with Europe for refugees who wanted to leave, triggering concerns of a new migration crisis in the European Union.
“We’ve opened the borders, there is nothing to say about it any more. It’s over,” Erdogan said, according to Turkish media. “The refugees will go wherever they can, we’re not forcing them to leave Turkey.”
The fragile cease-fire that came into effect at midnight appeared largely to be holding. Still, the talks didn’t resolve the central dispute over what should happen to Idlib, raising questions about the durability of the latest truce following repeated failed attempts to halt fighting. Turkey’s Defense Ministry said late Thursday, after the announcement of the agreement, that two of its soldiers were killed and three others wounded in Idlib.
“It is only a matter of time before Damascus starts pushing for Idlib again and a new crisis emerges,” Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at Teneo Intelligence, said Friday in a note. “And just like over the past week, Ankara will have no good options available.”
Turkey and Russia agreed to establish and jointly police a 12-kilometer wide security corridor along a key highway, though this fell well short of Erdogan’s demand for new zone of control in the province to resettle millions of refugees.
Turkey won’t change the location of its troops, the officials said, referring to a Russian proposal to move Ankara’s forces to northern parts of Idlib and out of areas taken by Syrian forces.
To contact the reporters on this story: Firat Kozok in Ankara at fkozok@bloomberg.net;Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, ;Mark Williams at mwilliams108@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.