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Turkish-Russian Relations

Turkish-Russian Relations
The Moscow agreement is fragile at best

| Opinion
After a six-hour meeting between leaders and technical committees, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his …
  • The Sick Man EU 2020
    Opinion

    Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey has faced the gravest problems in the region regarding security, economics and refugees. That picture has not changed. At every turn, a new wave of issues knocks on Turkey’s door. That Europe and the U.S. have not taken initiatives required for a political transition in Syria is a major factor in this. Another leading cause is Russia’s desire to solve the crisis through military force. From the outset, Russia has deployed a course of destruction called the 'Grozny model." It is a policy consisting of three stages: besiege, destroy and rule. Russia has implemented this formula in many areas, particularly in Aleppo, which has wreaked extensive destruction and killed thousands of civilians.
  • 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)
    Opinion

    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.
  • 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)
    Opinion

    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.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • 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.

  • Turkish troops in Syria

    The deadline for Bashar Assad’s retreat from Idlib has passed. Turkey remains committed to the Sochi agreement..

  • A displaced Syrian boy stands outside a tent at an informal camp in Kafr Lusin village on the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, Feb. 21, 2020. (AFP Photo)

    To solve the crisis in Idlib, the international community is hoping for the success of a four-nation summit and fresh diplomatic talks. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and France's President Emmanuel Macron, scheduled to take place on March 5, keeps alive the hope of ending what the U.N. called “the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century” diplomatically.

  • Syrian families, who have been forced to displace despite attacks carried out by Assad regime and Russia, sit on soil field despite the cold weather during winter season at Harbanush village in Idlib

    The recent escalation of violence between Turkey and the Assad regime in violation of the Sochi deal marks a significantly tense moment that may risk a deterioration of relations between Ankara and Moscow. Turkey has given an ultimatum to the Assad regime to withdraw its troops outside of the zone encircled by Turkey's military observation points until the end of February. So far, the Assad regime has resisted the idea of withdrawal and continued to expand further into the territory. However, Turkey expects its Russian counterparts to either convince or force the Assad regime to comply with the conditions laid out as part of the Sochi deal that was signed in September 2018.

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

    By the end of February, Turkey expects Bashar Assad to withdraw to the agreed-upon cease-fire line stipulated in the Sochi agreement. Yet, nothing has come out of diplomatic negotiations between Ankara and Moscow.