Turning Down Russian Proposal
Turkey Refuses to Leave Syrian Territory
ANTALYA (Dispatches) – Turkey has refused a Russian proposal to leave checkpoints on the territories controlled by the Syrian army and reduce the number of its troops in the region and withdraw heavy weapons.
The negotiations between Turkish and Russian military on the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib have not resulted in any agreements, with Moscow having disagreed with Ankara’s proposal to transfer the Syrian cities of Tall Rifat and Manbij under the Turkish control, a Turkish source familiar with the situation told Sputnik.
"The meetings between the Russian and Turkish delegations have not resulted in any specific results or reached mutual understanding on Idlib,” the source said on Thursday.
Ankara also wanted the cities of Tall Rifat and Manbij to be transferred under its control, but this initiative was rejected by Moscow, the source added.
However, a source said the two sides have agreed to reduce the number of Turkish forces present in Idlib and to withdraw heavy weapons from the area.
Russia criticized Turkey for its failure to fulfill its obligations under a bilateral ceasefire agreement on Idlib province, where the two countries back opposing sides.
On March 5, Russia and Turkey came to an agreement on the ceasefire regime in Idlib, where Turkish aggression against the Syrian government had earlier risked starting a war.
"Despite the success notched up in the fight against international terrorism on the Syrian soil, the situation there is far from being stable,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
"The terrorist groups of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Guardians of Religion Organization have entrenched themselves in Idlib province. The activities of these outfits have been partially restrained as a result of deployment of Turkish forces in Idlib de-escalation zone and joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the M4 highway at the section between Saraqib and Jisr al-Shughur,” she added.
"Ankara is, nevertheless, delaying to honor its commitments under the latest Turkish-Russian deal concluded on March 5,” the diplomat pointed out.
"The purge of the remaining pockets of Daesh, which regularly reemerge on both banks of the Euphrates River, is underway. However, terrorists avail themselves of enclaves within a radius of 55 kilometers around the illegal U.S. military base in al-Tanf region as well as U.S.-occupied and oil-rich Trans-Euphrates area. Syrian government authorities are still unable to access these areas of the country, and run basic services,” Zakharova said.
The negotiations between Turkish and Russian military on the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib have not resulted in any agreements, with Moscow having disagreed with Ankara’s proposal to transfer the Syrian cities of Tall Rifat and Manbij under the Turkish control, a Turkish source familiar with the situation told Sputnik.
"The meetings between the Russian and Turkish delegations have not resulted in any specific results or reached mutual understanding on Idlib,” the source said on Thursday.
Ankara also wanted the cities of Tall Rifat and Manbij to be transferred under its control, but this initiative was rejected by Moscow, the source added.
However, a source said the two sides have agreed to reduce the number of Turkish forces present in Idlib and to withdraw heavy weapons from the area.
Russia criticized Turkey for its failure to fulfill its obligations under a bilateral ceasefire agreement on Idlib province, where the two countries back opposing sides.
On March 5, Russia and Turkey came to an agreement on the ceasefire regime in Idlib, where Turkish aggression against the Syrian government had earlier risked starting a war.
"Despite the success notched up in the fight against international terrorism on the Syrian soil, the situation there is far from being stable,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
"The terrorist groups of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Guardians of Religion Organization have entrenched themselves in Idlib province. The activities of these outfits have been partially restrained as a result of deployment of Turkish forces in Idlib de-escalation zone and joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the M4 highway at the section between Saraqib and Jisr al-Shughur,” she added.
"Ankara is, nevertheless, delaying to honor its commitments under the latest Turkish-Russian deal concluded on March 5,” the diplomat pointed out.
"The purge of the remaining pockets of Daesh, which regularly reemerge on both banks of the Euphrates River, is underway. However, terrorists avail themselves of enclaves within a radius of 55 kilometers around the illegal U.S. military base in al-Tanf region as well as U.S.-occupied and oil-rich Trans-Euphrates area. Syrian government authorities are still unable to access these areas of the country, and run basic services,” Zakharova said.