Turkish Delegation to Visit Moscow on Monday for Idlib Talks - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2020) The Turkish delegation is planning to visit Moscow on February 17 to continue talks on conflict settlement in Syria's embattled province of Idlib, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday.

"Today [Saturday] we will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. On Monday, the Turkish delegation will leave for Russia. We want to solve the conflict [in Idlib] with Russia through diplomatic means. If it does not work out diplomatically, then the necessary steps will be taken," Cavusoglu said on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference, as quoted by the Turkish NTV broadcaster.

Last week, the Russian delegation visited Turkey, where the officials discussed the new developments in Syria. The delegation included Special Presidential Representative on Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and representatives of the Defense Ministry, while Turkey was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and Presidential Adviser Ibrahim Kalin.

Earlier this week, tensions between Ankara and Damascus escalated as the Turkish forces came under attack by Syrian troops in Idlib. The Turkish Defense Ministry said that the Syrian army's attack in Idlib killed five Turkish military officers and a civilian staffer. As a result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to take retaliatory measures if Syria's armed forces failed to stop their operation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and withdraw from the areas close to Turkey's observation posts by the end of February.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Turkey to comply with the existing agreements on Idlib and expressed his regret over Ankara's failure to dissociate the armed opposition from the terrorists operating there.