Contents tagged with turkey

  • Turkey deploys special forces in Idlib

    Turkey has deployed special forces divisions near its observation points in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the Turkish media reports, citing the Turkish Defense Ministry.

    According to the Anadolu news agency, armored vehicles (primarily armored transports) with special forces from various parts of Turkey have been dispatched to Syria through the Reyhanli district of Turkey’s Hatay province. Multiple rocket launchers have been deployed at positions along the Turkish-Syrian border.

    The US has …

  • Erdogan: Russia is spearheading the war in Libya

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia is spearheading the conflict in Libya "at the highest level." He noted that Ankara will continue to support the Government of National Accord which is headed by the Prime Minister, Fayez al-Sarraj.

    "Russia is currently spearheading the war there at the highest level," NTV news channel quotes Erdogan as saying.

    Earlier, Russia abstained in a vote in the UN Security Council on a resolution in support of the results of the Berlin Conference on …

  • Russia accuses Turkey of providing American-made weapons for militants in Syria

    Turkey is moving personnel, weapons and military equipment to the de-escalation zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, much of which goes to militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra group, Russian media reported citing military and diplomatic sources in the Kremlin.

    "The American MANPADS, which the militants did not have before, fell into the hands of terrorists thanks to Turkish supplies," the Russian news agency TASS quoted one of the sources as saying.

    Russia believes that the use of these …

  • Another Assad’s helicopter shot down in Syria

    Another Syrian government helicopter was shot down in Idlib province, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported. The incident reportedly took place in the west of the province in the de-escalation zone. All of the crew members were killed.

    According to the news agency, the Mi-17 helicopter was flying from Aleppo when, in the vicinity of the town of Kaptan al-Jabal, the Syrian opposition forces allegedly fired a surface-to-air missile at it. At that time, fierce fighting was taking place near …

  • Russian ambassador to Turkey says he is threatened because of Idlib situation

    Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexey Yerkhov said that he has started receiving threats amid the deterioration of the situation in Idlib, Syria.

    “I have been receiving direct threats,” he told Sputnik-Turkey in an interview.

    According to the diplomat, anti-Russian comments have started appearing in the Turkish segment of social media. “There’s escalation in Syria. Agreed: these are very painful developments and troubling days… But look at the terrible madness on social networks,” he remarked. …

  • Erdogan blames Russia for bloodbath in Syria

    On February 12, Turkish President Recep Erdogan blamed Russia for the “bloodbaths” occurring while it supports the Assad regime, Radio Liberty reports.

    The Turkish leader is threatening to destroy the forces of the Syrian regime “everywhere”, if Turkish soldiers are subjected to new attacks.

    “The regime backed by Russian forces and pro-Iranian militants is constantly attacking peaceful civilians, carrying out mass killings and shedding blood,” said Erdogan during a meeting with members of …

  • Russia-Turkey Syria talks end without result

    The Russian delegation which traveled to Ankara to discuss Turkey’s request to stop the Syrian government forces’ offensive against Idlib has now left Turkey, a source in diplomatic circles told Reuters. Apparently the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on how to put an end to the confrontations, which in the space of a week have already resulted in the deaths of 13 Turkish soldiers.

    The Russian representatives arrived in Ankara on Saturday, February 8, several days after eight …

  • Turkey attacks Assad’s army and gives Russians a strong warning

    A serious conflict is brewing between two Middle Eastern dictators. Turkish forces have been deployed in the Syrian province of Idlib, which is still controlled by Islamist militants, including ISIS. It was into this province that Assad’s forces drove the defeated opposition forces and caliphate supporters.

    Now, at a time when the dictator Assad has regained control of most of Syria with the support of Russian troops, his army has approached Idlib. However, Turkey has effectively created a …

  • Russia sends out military patrols without Turkey again in Syria

    For the second time this week, Turkish soldiers have not joined their Russian colleagues in the joint patrolling of Syria, said Major General Yury Borenkov, director of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, as cited by Russia’s Defense Ministry website.

    According to Borenkov, because Turkey did not show up, Russian troops patrolled Syria’s Al-Hasakah region independently. The Russian military police has also continued to patrol the Aleppo province. Borenkov noted that the patrols took …

  • Turkey losing interest in Russian gas

    While Gazprom was completing the $7 billion Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Turkey was cutting back on its purchases of Russian gas.

    By the end of 2019, 14.4-14.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas had been transported to the Turkish market, Interfax calculates, based on statistics from the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

    In comparison with 2018, this equates to a decline of approximately 40%. As a result, for the first time in 13 years Turkey is no longer one of the …