Escalation in Idlib

1 Syria

Reporters of ANNA NEWS report from Syria: The city of Sarakib in the province of Idlib is under the control of the Syrian forces. Earlier, the Syrian army repelled the counterattacks of terrorists in the vicinity of the city. On Thursday, the government troops entered the city of Sarakib and started to search the area.

2 Syria

The »Al Jazeera» TV channel reports that the Turkish forces fired at the positions of the Syrian forces near the city of Sarakib. It was reported that the Turkish shelling coincided with the counter-attack of the terrorist groups that tried to retake their positions, previously lost as a result of the offence of the Syrian army in the region.

3 Russia — Turkey

The Russian delegation will arrive in Turkey to negotiate on the situation in the de-escalation zone in the province of Idlib — the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Friday, on air of the ‘NTV’. Cavusoglu claimed that «the aggression of the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Idlib continues». Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that there has been an escalation of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone during the last few weeks.

4 Israel — Syria

Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that on the night of 6th of February, a passenger airliner Airbus-320, with 172 passengers on board, nearly came under fire during an Israeli air strike on Damascus. The airplane was en-route Tehran — Damascus. It was supposed to land at the airport in Damascus. “Thanks to the swift actions of the airport dispatchers, and the efficient operation of the automated air traffic control system, it was possible to get the Airbus-320 out of the Syrian air defense strike zone, and safely land the airplane at the nearest alternative airport — at the Russian airbase ‘Khmeimim’” — Igor Konashenkov explained and underlined that «The Israeli General Staff performs a military operation in the air, while using civilian aircraft with passengers on board either for their own cover, or to block the response of the Syrian air defense forces. It is becoming a typical feature of the Israeli Air Force».

5 the UN

During an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Idlib, called by the initiative of the US, the UK, and France — the Turkish Permanent Representative to the UN, Feridun Sinirli-oglu, announced that Turkey is working together with the UN in order to resolve the Syrian conflict peacefully. Turkey however reserves the right for the self-defense, and refuses to pull out their forces. He also accused the Syrian government of deliberately attacking the Turkish military, and of trying to drag Turkey into a «dirty war via that attack».

6 Japan — Russia

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, intends to promote the joint work of Russia and Japan, aimed to find a solution, acceptable to both parties, which would result in a peace treaty. “It is important, first of all, to enhance the trust and friendship between the Japanese and Russian people. To make the 4 islands into the ‘islands of friendship'» — Shinzo Abe explained during a ‘Congress for the Return of the Northern Territories», as the Kuril Islands are called in Japan. The Japanese Foreign Minister, Motegi Toshimitsu, announced that Japan wants to further expand the joint economic activities on the so-called «northern islands» during this year. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.