Mariana Pelinkaya wrote in “Kommersant”, about Russia and Turkey searching for a compromise regarding the Syrian Idlib, after Ankara failed to separate the terrorists from the armed opposition.
The article said: The Russian-Turkish talks on Idlib in Moscow ended without result. Turkey continues to transfer its military mechanisms to northern Syria and demand the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army from its positions, while Moscow believes that Ankara has failed in the task of separating the terrorists from the armed opposition. However, they speak of a complete mutual understanding between the Russian and Turkish military.
Sergey Lavrov emphasized the separation of terrorists as “the key to a solution to the Idlib problem.” In this regard, the expert of the Russian Council for Foreign Affairs, Kirill Semenov, told “Kommersant“: “What does Moscow mean by separation? The actual separation took place long ago. Now, two forces are clearly active in Idlib: the HTS, and armed opposition groups, united by Turkey in what was called the Syrian National Army, which included the National Liberation Front in October 2019.
According to him, the opposition and the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham in Idlib have a similar number, about 20,000 fighters from each side, even though the territories controlled by the terrorists are much larger, which is around 75-80% of what is left of the Idlib area to reduce the escalation.
Simonov suggested that there would be an agreement between Moscow and Ankara. It is no accident that President Erdogan gave Damascus time to withdraw its forces until the end of February, and the Turks did not intervene to stop the progress of the Syrian army in Aleppo, where the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham is mainly deployed. He added: “For a long time, Ankara did not obstruct the work of the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham in Idlib, because it considered this group a deterrent force in the face of the Syrian army. Now, after the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham was unable to stop the progress of the Syrian army, no one needed it.”
However, Washington may provide assistance to the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham. Rather, this support, like other US data, is viewed with caution in Ankara. President Erdogan has declared that he does not trust Washington.
The article only expresses the opinion of the newspaper
