TR
EN

Syrian Conflict

Syrian Conflict
Diplomacy in the time of coronavirus

| Opinion
It’s fair to say the world is more than fixated on the COVID-19 outbreak. The …
  • Migrants walk in Edirne at the Turkish-Greek border, March 9, 2020. (AP Photo)
    Opinion

    The March 5 agreement between Turkey and Russia put an end to the military confrontation in Idlib, Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, shook hands on that deal to de-escalate what had become serious bilateral tensions. The 2018 Sochi agreement has thus been updated.
  • Migrants gather in a field at the Maritsa river near Edirne, at the Turkish-Greek border, March 3, 2020. (AP Photo)
    Opinion

    Turkey has been the main supporter of the Syrian opposition fighting the Bashar Assad regime. Ankara has also diligently protected innocent Syrian civilians living in the Idlib region. It has stood against the atrocities, the Assad regime attacks and the regime's main backers Russia and Iran. On one hand, Turkey has mobilized its deterrent military power in the region against the regime’s future attacks; on the other hand, Turkish officials and civil institutions initiated a campaign to provide food and shelter for civilians. Western countries have been reluctant to get involved in the humanitarian tragedy and security problem in the region.
  • Syrian men ride their motorcycles through a damaged neighborhood in the town of Binnish, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province near the Turkish border, following a Russia-Turkey cease-fire deal, March 6, 2020. (AFP Photo)
    Opinion

    After a six-hour meeting between leaders and technical committees, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart announced a cease-fire for Syria's Idlib. During the meeting at the Kremlin, the presidents gave short speeches. The whole world followed the process as the decisions could trigger an escalation in violence while intensifying the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria. Turkey and Russia both wanted to end the civil war but were unwilling to concede their positions. For both Turkey and Russia, bilateral relations were at stake as well.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • A picture taken on March 7, 2020, shows destruction in the village of al-Nayrab, about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria. (AFP Photo)

    Last week’s agreement between Turkey and Russia established a new deconfliction plan and demonstrated that the two countries were united in their commitment to the Astana and Sochi processes. Even more important was their ability to stop the clashes in Idlib and preserve the framework of their bilateral relations.

  • Plumes of smoke rise following Russian air strikes on the village of al-Bara in the southern part of Syria's northwestern Idlib province, March 5, 2020. (AFP)

    The deal signed between Turkey and Russia eased the tension in Idlib by declaring a cease-fire once again. Yet, despite the positive intentions of both parties, the unreliable nature of the Syrian regime raises cautiousness while increasing the responsibility on the shoulders of the Turkish and Russian sides as guarantor states

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin greet each other prior to their talks on Idlib, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo)

    President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Moscow this week to hold talks on the Idlib crisis. The world closely followed his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. All experts were sure that this would be the tensest meeting between the two leaders since the 2015 jet incident.

  • Turkey

    For days, both Syrian public opinion and the world have been discussing the question of “What is Turkey doing in Idlib, Syria?” If you are really curious about this question, you must have been born after 2015. Turkey has intervened in northern Syria for both humanitarian and security reasons due to a number of problems, such as nearly 4 million refugees coming to the country during the nine-year war, instability spreading from Syria and dozens of people killed in missile strikes on Turkish soil, which were launched from across the Syrian border.

  • Forces of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime violated the latest ceasefire agreement between Turkey and Russia 10 minutes after it was implemented. Anadolu Agency correspondents said that by the end of the first day of the ceasefire, regime forces had violated the agreement 15 times. The regime, which continued the violations Saturday and Sunday, engaged in harassment fire with a machine gun on a Turkish military convoy transporting supplies. Elements of the regime also fired three mortar shells near another unit. Harassment fire overnight by regime artillery in villages in Syria’s Idlib province continued for about an hour. Yesterday, regime forces were determined to advance to points in Kafr Nabl village, a buffer zone south of Idlib, with two tanks, two armored personnel carriers and many militia convoys. Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on March 1 after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred in late February in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib. Under a 2018 deal with Russia, Turkish troops were in Idlib to protect civilians from attacks by the regime and its allies. On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in Moscow to a new ceasefire in Idlib. (AA,March 9, 2020)

    The Idlib crisis reached another turning point after the signing of the Turkish-Russian agreement last week during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Moscow. Reports indicated that the challenging process of negotiations carried on for more than six hours. The end result of the negotiations generated a lot of debates regarding its provisions and the potential roadblocks in its implementation.

NEW BOOKS