Turkey Reaches Out to Russia as Idlib Assault Risks Refugee Wave

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey will send a delegation to Moscow on Monday to seek a reprieve from President Vladimir Putin after Russian-backed Syrian forces stepped up an offensive on the country’s last major rebel bastion, threatening a new refugee wave.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, with Russian air support, escalated its attacks against the northwestern province of Idlib, controlled by onetime al-Qaeda affiliates along with Turkey-backed rebels. The showdown is unleashing an exodus toward Turkey, which already shelters the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hopes that the Turkish delegation could find common ground with the Kremlin. Turkey is sparing no effort in trying to communicate with Russia, he said late Sunday. The advance of Syrian troops also threatens to cut off some Turkish military outposts stationed on the perimeters of Idlib under a cease-fire monitoring mission with Russia and Iran.

“We will determine our steps depending on the outcome of talks of our delegation,” Erdogan said without elaborating, adding that more than 80,000 refugees, fleeing the bombardment, were heading toward Turkey.

“If the violence against Idlib does not stop, this number will increase,” he said. “In that case, Turkey can’t carry the burden of the migration alone. It will have a negative impact on us, and that will also be felt primarily by Greece and other European countries.”

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, Paul Abelsky

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