Turkish officials have announced that Turkey and Russia are discussing possible joint patrols around Idlib as one option to ensure security of the region.
It has also been announced that Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet in Tehran next month to discuss Idlib while a Russian delegation may come to Ankara before that.
The news comes afterTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that there was some rapprochement with Russia in talks about Syria's Idlib region, where Ankara has threatened to mount an offensive, but added that discussions were not at a desired level yet.
President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that a Turkish military operation in Idlib to drive back a Russian-led Syrian government offensive that has displaced nearly a million people was a "matter of time" after talks with Moscow failed to reach a solution.
Speaking to broadcaster TRT Haber, Cavusoglu said Turkey and Russia would intensify their talks on Idlib in the coming days, adding that Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may discuss the issue as well.
The UN envoy to Syria said Wednesday that the country was on the brink of worsening violence after an exchange of threats between key players Turkey and Russia.
Syrian aid workers have called for an urgent ceasefire and international help for nearly a million people fleeing the regime's onslaught in northwestern Idlib province -- the biggest wave of displaced civilians in the nine-year conflict.
"I cannot report any progress in ending the current violence in the northwest or in reconvening the political process," Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council.
"Russian and Turkish delegations have met intensively in recent days ... but no understanding has yet emerged," he said.
"To the contrary, public statements from different quarters, Syrian and international, suggest an imminent danger of further escalation."
The regime army's offensive, backed by Russian air power, has triggered the biggest wave of displaced civilians in the nine-year conflict.
At a press conference in Istanbul, the Syrian NGO Alliance said existing camps are overcrowded and civilians forced to sleep in the open as more than 900,000 people flee the violence.
The regime offensive has killed more than 400 civilians since it began in December, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The violence in northwest Syria is indiscriminate. Health facilities, schools, residential areas, mosques and markets have been hit," the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, Mark Lowcock, said earlier this week.
(Zaman Al Wasl with Agencies)
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.