Contents tagged with turkey

  • Turkey refuses to recognize April elections to Syrian parliament

    Turkey will not recognize the elections to the Syrian parliament, which the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, wants to hold in April this year, said Turkish presidential advisor Ibrahim Kalin, as cited by Anadolu agency.

    He noted that the upcoming elections will not be legitimate for Ankara, Damascus or the international community.

    The day before, Assad signed a decree to hold elections to the People's Council (unicameral parliament) of the country on April 13, 2020.

    The conflict between …

  • Turkey destroys another Russian-made Pantsir air defense system in Sirya

    The Turkish Air Force has destroyed another Russian-made anti-aircraft missile system Pantsir-S1, reports the Russian news outlet Rosbalt.

    This is the third such incident since the beginning of the Turkish military campaign in Syria and Libya.

    A video  showing the Pantsir-S1 being destroyed was posted on Twitter. According to unconfirmed reports, it happened in northwestern Syria.

    According to other sources, the incident happened in Libya. The Russian air defense system was delivered to …

  • Kremlin admits possibility of direct clash with Turkey in Syria

    The sharp escalation in northern Syria, where Turkey is conducting operation the Spring Shield in an attempt to push back Bashar al-Assad's forces and block hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring through the Turkish border, carries the risks of a direct clash between Russian and Turkish military, the Kremlin acknowledged on Tuesday.

    When asked by journalists what is the probability that the Russian and Turkish military will enter into a real confrontation in Idlib, Russian presidential …

  • Syria suspends flights over Idlib

    The Syrian army has suspended flights in the northwest of the country after one plane was shot down by Turkey, reports the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

    The agency claims it has obtained an audio recording of the conversations of the Syrian pilots.

    According to Anadolu, as soon as the first plane was attacked, the dispatcher contacted the pilot of the second plane, which was in northwestern Syria at the time.

    "Hawk-12 was shot down," the air traffic controller told the pilot of the plane, …

  • Russian media: Turkish combat drones are a big problem for Assad Forces in Syria

    The Turkish Air Force, in particular drones, have become a real problem for Syrian troops over the past two weeks, reports the popular Russian publication "Moskovskij Komsomolets". The author, citing Turkish media, writes that Turkish drones destroyed at least 22 Syrian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, 13 122-mm Gvozdika and 152-mm Acacia self-propelled howitzers during this period.

    The article states that Turkish Air Force drones destroyed at least 55 tanks: 13 T-55, 7 T-62, 23 T-72, one T-90 …

  • Turkey downs another Syrian warplane over Idlib

    The Syrian Air Force lost another warplane over Idlib. The loss of the plane was confirmed by the Syrian news agency SANA, saying that the plane of the government forces was shot down by a Turkish fighter while flying over Idlib. No other details of the incident were provided.

    The Turkish Defense Ministry also confirms the downing of the Syrian warplane. According to a post on the Twitter account of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the country's air force destroyed the Syrian Army's L-39 …

  • Pro-Iranian militants fire ballistic missile at Turkish troops in Syria

    Pro-Iranian forces fighting alongside the Regime of Bashar al-Assad fired a ballistic missile at Turkish army positions in the northern province of Idlib, reported the Israeli news website Nziv, citing Syrian media.

    According to preliminary data, it is a medium-range missile identical to that used by the Yemeni Houthis against Saudi troops. The projectile was reportedly shot down by a missile defense system deployed on the Turkish-Syrian border.

    Earlier, the Turkish Air Force and ground …

  • Kremlin: Putin-Erdogan meeting in March will not be easy

    The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not be easy, but both sides intend to keep a course on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Syria, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian President. The Kremlin representative also commented on Erdogan's request to Russia to "step aside". He reminded that Russian forces are in the country at the invitation of Damascus.

    "Yes, in the middle of the week, March 5th or 6th, the …

  • Russia says it cannot guarantee safety of Turkish aircraft in Syria

    The Turkish side cannot count on the safety of its combat aviation in northern Syria, stated the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, after Turkey shot down two Syrian fighter jets over Idlib.

    "The command of the Russian troops cannot guarantee the safety of Turkish aviation in the skies of Syria," the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Rear Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, said, as quoted by TASS.

    "Amid a sharply aggravated situation, the Syrian government closed the airspace in …

  • Turkish drone destroys Russian-made Pantsir air defense system in Idlib

    On Friday, a missile fired by a Turkish drone destroyed a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 deployed by the Syrian Army in Idlib province.

    A video released by Turkish media, shows an active Syrian Pantsir being destroyed by a Turkish drone.

    According to Turkish media, the Pantsir radar was active when it was hit, indicating that the system failed to detect the incoming missile.

    The Syrian Air Defense Force reportedly has more than 30 Pantsir systems. Russia has also strengthened its Syrian Khmeimim …