Erdogan Accuses Syria Regime of Undermining Turkey-Russia Deal

• 05.14.2019, 19:23
•  EEU,  Near East,  World

Bloomberg

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Syrian regime of “seeking to sabotage” Ankara’s relationship with Russia through its latest offensive in the northwest of the war-torn country, English Alarabiya reports. 

Clashes in Idlib province in northwestern Syria have killed at least 42 fighters in 24 hours, a monitor said Monday, and the regime bombardment on the region has devastated health services.

Idlib’s three million inhabitants are supposed to be protected by a buffer zone deal signed last September by Russia and Turkey.

Erdogan told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during a phone call late on Monday that the offensive by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces “sought to sabotage Turkish-Russian cooperation,” according to Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, on Twitter.

The readout of the phone call made no mention of the fact that Russian forces are involved in the Syrian offensive.