The US weaponry in Syria. Turkey’s new operation

1 Syria — the US Weaponry in Syria

The head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Rear-Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev, announced that the weaponry, given by the US forces to the terrorists, is being used against the Turkish military in Syria. “Since the beginning of 2020, 13 military convoys have arrived from Iraq to Syria. The convoys included more than 80 armored vehicles, and more than 300 trucks loaded with weapons, ammo, and materiel”- the news agency ‘TASS’ quoted Oleg Zhuravlev. Due to the difficult humanitarian situation, and the constant shelling by the terrorists — the civilian population leaves the north-eastern regions of the country. The civilians move to the territory, controlled by the Syrian government. Oleg Zhuravlev also underlined that the Russian military police continues to patrol Aleppo province.

2 Syria — the first flight from Damascus to Aleppo

The Syrian state-owned news agency ‘SANA’ reported that on Wednesday a passenger plane took off from Damascus airport, and headed to Aleppo. It was the first flight to the Aleppo Airport over the last 8 years. Regular flights will resume thanks to the liberation of the city from the terrorists. Previously the flights were impossible due to the terrorists in the province that constantly shelled the airport, which made flying unsafe.

3 Turkey — Russia — the Turkish military operation in Idlib

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced, while speaking in the Turkish Parliament, that the new military operation of the Turkish troops in the Syrian city of Idlib is only a matter of time. He also said that Ankara is ready to use all the combat potential in the case of an operation in Idlib. The Turkish president added that «Despite the negotiations on Idlib, Turkey and Russia are still far from reaching an agreement». He expressed his opinion that the negotiations, held in Ankara and Moscow, «haven’t reached the desired results at the moment». The Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called the possible Turkish operation in Syria «the worst-case scenario in Idlib». He underlined that Russia will continue the negotiations with Turkey. «We intend to use our working contacts with the Turkish colleagues in order to prevent the further escalation of the situation in Idlib» — Peskov concluded.

4. Russia — Negotiations on Idlib

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Russia haven’t reached the results on Idlib during the negotiations with Turkey. Sergei Lavrov underlined that Russia didn’t impose any new demands on Turkey in order to resolve the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. “We believe that everything our leaders have agreed on must be completed first” — said Sergey Lavrov. He noted that so far he didn’t get any specific instructions on a preparation of a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Turkey, aimed to discuss Idlib. He added that Russia is ready to work with Turkey at any level, even the highest level. Sergei Lavrov called the actions of the Syrian army in Idlib «a natural response, needed to push the terrorists away from the outer perimeter of the de-escalation zone». He underlined that Moscow supports the actions of the Syrian army, which responds to the unacceptable provocations in Idlib. Earlier, an official representative of the Turkish president, Ibrahim Kalyn, said that Turkey intends to continue «sending the military to Idlib in order to fortify the Turkish observation posts, and in order to protect the civilians». Turkey isn’t considering a possible «changing of the locations of the existing observation posts». Despite the fact that the negotiations between Russia and Turkey on Idlib haven’t got the results that would satisfy Turkey — Ankara «isn’t interested in a decline of the relations with Russia because of Idlib» — the representative of Erdogan explained.