Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey would launch a military response if Syria's armed forces failed to stop their operation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and withdraw from Turkey's observation posts by the end of February
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2020) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey would launch a military response if Syria's armed forces failed to stop their operation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and withdraw from Turkey's observation posts by the end of February.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said on Monday that five Turkish military officers and a civilian staffer had been killed in an attack by the Syrian army in Idlib. Meanwhile, Erdogan said later that five servicemen and three civilians had been killed as a result of the attack. On Tuesday, Erdogan held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation.
"[On Tuesday], I told Putin that [Syrian President Bashar] Assad needed to immediately withdraw troops from the borders of the [Idlib] de-escalation zone designated under the Sochi agreement. Otherwise, Turkey will be forced to take necessary action in order to protect [its borders]," Erdogan said in Ankara.
