Contents tagged with turkey

  • Three journalists from Russian state news agency detained by Turkish police

    Turkish police detained three employees of the Sputnik-Turkey news agency in Ankara because of the publication "Stolen Province: Why France handed over part of Syria to Turkey 80 years ago," reported the newspaper Sözcü.

    The article was about the Turkish bordering province of Hatay, which after the First World War became part of Syria, under the control of France, and then the region was taken over by Turkey.

    According to RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, it is currently not possible …

  • Turkey shots down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib

    Syria's news agency SANA reported that two Syrian aircraft were shot down by the Turkish military over Idlib province. The agency stated that the pilots managed to eject and were not hurt.

    Earlier, Turkish TV channels TRT and CNN Turk reported that of a Syrian government aircraft was shot down in the skies over Idlib. The latter claimed that the plane had been shot down by opposition forces controlling the city of Saraqib.

    There were also reports on Twitter that a Russian Su-24 had been shot …

  • Erdogan: Turkey has opened its border with EU to Syrian refugees

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara is opening the border with Europe to refugees from Syria.

    "As of this morning, 18,000 migrants have crossed the Turkish-European border. And we will no longer close those doors, it will continue. We are not in a position to feed so many refugees," he said during his speech In Istanbul on Saturday, February 29, as cited by Anadolu.

    According to Erdogan, there are 3.7 million Syrian refugees in Turkey today.

    The day before, the …

  • Turkey considers closing Bosporus strait to Russian ships

    The continuation of the conflict in Syria’s Idlib province, which remains in the hands of pro-Turkish forces and radical groups, could force Ankara to close the Bosporus strait to Russian naval vessels, said Muharrem Sarikaya, a correspondent for the Turkish TV channel Habertürk, citing his own sources in the country’s leadership. According to him, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has such options “on the table”. The Montreux Convention, which regulates ship traffic through the Bosporus …

  • Ankara: Russia was given coordinates of the Turkish military convoy in advance, but it targeted even the ambulances

    The strikes on the Turkish military convoy in Syria's Idlib were carried out even though Turkey informed Russia about its location, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, as cited by Anadolu.

    According to him, the Russian side was informed in advance about the locations of the Turkish military in the de-escalation zone, but the airstrikes continued despite Ankara's warning. Even military ambulances came under fire.

    "The Turkish military, which was in Idlib to secure a truce and prevent a …

  • Russia reinforces its navy flotilla off Syrian coast

    Two frigates of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Makarov and Admiral Grigorovich, have passed through the Bosporus and Dardanelles in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea.

    The Russian news agency Interfax reported, with reference to the official representative of the Black Sea Fleet Alexei Rulev, that the ships "which are equipped with the Kalibr-NK cruise missiles make a planned transition from Sevastopol to the far sea zone, where they will join the Mediterranean flotilla."

    Russia is …

  • 33 Turkish soldiers killed in airstrikes by Syrian Air Forces

    Twenty-two Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack by Russian aircraft supporting Bashar al-Assad's regime in Idlib, Syria, said Rakhmi Dogan, the governor of the Turkish province Hatay, bordering Idlib region, as reported by Anadolu. The news agency reported later that the number of killed had increased to 33.

    In turn, some media sources report, citing eyewitnesses, that the number of victims may be higher.

    Earlier, Turkish authorities reported nine dead in an airstrike by Syrian forces in …

  • Russia accuses Turkish troops of firing at Russian aircraft in Syria

    The Turkish military in the Syrian province of Idlib are trying to shoot down Russian warplanes, reports the Russian news agency Interfax with reference to the report of the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

    "The Syrian military are literally being saved by the aviation, both their own and Russian. Syrian Air Force and Russian Air Force planes stop the militants time and time again. At the same time, the skies over Idlib are also dangerous now. Militants and Turkish soldier are actively using portable …

  • Two Turkish soldiers killed by Assad’s airstrikes in Idlib

    Two Turkish soldiers were killed, and two others were wounded in an airstrike in Idlib province in northwestern Syria. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the airstrike was carried out by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government forces.

    In response, Turkish forces attacked Syrian government military facilities, two anti-aircraft missile systems, three tanks and vehicles, and killed 114 Syrian military.

    Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara plans to push …

  • Syria deploys Shilka, Gvozdika and T-72 in fight for Idlib

    The Syrian government army has deployed a Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon system, a Gvozdika howitzer and a T-72 tank in the southern part of the Idlib province. The vehicles were caught in a video published by the Ruptly agency and shared on Twitter.

    According to the latest figures, the Syrian regime forces and the Iranian forces allied with them have lost 16 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, three Shilkas, seven self-propelled howitzers and 14 tanks, including one T-90, in Idlib …