A military operation of Turkey in Libya

1 Syria

The head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Rear-Admiral Alexander Shcherbitsky, stated during a briefing that on the evening of 11th of July, the Russian air defense forces at the airbase ‘Khmeimim’, in Syria, had intercepted two terrorist strike drones. No injuries or material damage were reported. The air base operates as usual. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Vershinin, announced that Moscow considers the drone attack on the airbase ‘Khmeimim’ to be a terrorist attack. He underlined that the safety of the Russian military, located in Syria by an agreement with Damascus, is a priority for Russia. It was reported that the terrorists from the ‘Jebhat al-Nusra’ group shelled the settlement of Ed-Dan, in the province of Idlib. Earlier a few such attacks took place in the provinces of Aleppo and Latakia. The Syrian troops repelled the terrorist attacks. 8 terrorists were killed. Alexander Shcherbitsky reminded that in accordance with the Russian-Turkish agreement from 6th of March, 2020 — a cease-fire is in a force on the territory of the Idlib de-escalation zone.

2 Syria

The ‘SANA’ news agency reported that the USA sent a new convoy of 22 trucks, loaded with military personnel and supplies, from Iraq to Syria. The American forces entered a US base located to the west from the city of Hasakah, on the road that connects the city of Hasakah and Tel Beidar. It was reported that the convoy was escorted by 8 US military vehicles. The SANA noted that the presence of the US forces in Syria is illegal.

3 Syria

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that over the past day, the Russian representatives in the commission on the acts of violation of the ceasefire in Syria recorded 2 cases of firefights in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo. «The Turkish representatives didn’t record any acts of firefights» — the report concluded. During the day, the Reconciliation Center conducted 3 humanitarian actions in the provinces of Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Quneitra.

4 Russia — Syria

The Special Representative of the Russian president for the Middle East and Africa, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, stated during an interview to the ‘TASS’ news agency that Russia expects that the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, planned for August, will actually take place, and Russia intends to actively support the committee. Earlier on 16th of June, the special envoy of the UN Secretary General for Syria, Geir Pedersen, announced while speaking to the UN Security Council via a video-format that the third meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee could be held in Geneva, in late August, if the restrictions on the flights, imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be lifted.

5 Turkey — Libya

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, stated that the Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, should retreat from Sirt and Jufra. Otherwise a military operation will be launched against them. “Haftar needs to move away from Sirt and Jufra. We have told this to Russia. Currently there are military preparations for an operation in Sirt, although we are still waiting for a settlement via the negotiating table” — the TRT channel quoted Cavusoglu. «Although a truce is currently being supported, it does not work for the interests of the Libyan government. The government has concerns that Haftar isn’t sincere. We think that he is trying to gain time, and he is now preparing to attack once again. The Libyan government believes that firstly the roadmap must be seen. If there are suitable conditions on the road-map — the government will agree on a truce» — the Turkish minister added.