The two heads of state meet in Moscow on Thursday, when dozens of Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent weeks in heavy fighting in the Idlib region.
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting in Moscow on Thursday to seek a solution to ease tensions in Syria, which have posed the threat of a direct conflict between Russia and Turkey on Syrian soil.
“The situation in Idleb has gotten so bad that it requires us to have a personal and direct conversation,” said Mr. Putin at the start of the meeting. “Our meeting here for discussions on Idleb is significant. There are big problems in this region. The whole world is watching us. The appropriate measures and decisions that we are going to take here will appease the region (of Idleb) and our two countries,” said Erdogan.
Turkish soldiers
The meeting comes when dozens of Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent weeks in intense fighting in the region of Idlib, the last rebel and jihadist stronghold in north-western Syria, where Turkey has been waging war since late February. Primary operations against the forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime. The latter, supported by the Russian air force, launched in December an offensive in Idlib, which caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with nearly a million people displaced towards the Turkish border.
Escalation of tensions
This escalation of tensions on the ground has resulted in diplomatic tensions between Moscow, an ally of the Syrian regime, and Ankara, support of the rebels, posing a risk of confrontation between the two countries, which have established themselves as the main actors. International in the Syrian conflict.
” We need to talk about it so that it does not happen again and does not destroy Russian-Turkish relations,” said Putin. For his part, Erdogan said he hoped that the decisions are taken on Thursday by the two leaders ” will appease the region (of Idleb) and our two countries. ” On the eve of his departure for Moscow, the Turkish president had already expressed the hope of obtaining a ” cease-fire as quickly as possible in the region ” from Idleb, thanks to his meeting with Mr. Putin.
Question of Prestige
A cease-fire could be announced after discussions between MM. Putin and Erdogan, but it will only be a show, “relativizes, however, to AFP a Western diplomat. ” I think Putin will tell Erdogan that it is over for his actions in Syria, ” he added.
The victory in Syria has become a matter of prestige for Russia and Putin personally, ” said Iouri Barmine, an analyst with the Russian Council for International Affairs, suggesting that Moscow, which has intervened militarily on Syrian soil since September 2015 in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, was not ready to make concessions.
Tensions in Idlib
The escalation of tensions in Idlib, which in particular saw Turkey shoot down three Syrian regime planes and kill dozens of its soldiers, shattered the agreements reached between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi in 2018 to put an end to fighting in this region and establishing a demilitarized zone there.
It also gave rise to lively exchanges between Moscow and Ankara, which had strengthened their cooperation in recent years on the Syrian issue, despite their divergent interests.
Mutual accusations
Turkey has thus accused Russia of not respecting the Sochi agreements, which provided guarantees of the status quo on the ground and the suspension of the bombings in Idlib. For its part, Russia has accused Turkey of not fulfilling its part of the commitments and of doing nothing to ” neutralize the terrorists ” in this region.
A high point in the mutual accusations: the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the ” fortified positions of the terrorists have merged with the Turkish observation posts ” deployed in Idlib as part of the Sochi agreements.