RT
Mariana Belenkaya wrote in “Kommersant” about the explosive ticking time bombs under Russian-Turkish relations in Syria.
The article reads: The agreements between the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, regarding Syria are threatened with disruption. The Syrian opposition accuses the Russian forces of bombing Idlib. Meanwhile, Ankara is asking Moscow to stop attacks by pro-Syrian forces in the Turkish-controlled areas in northern Syria. Moscow also has reasons to demand that Turkey abide by the agreements. On Sunday night, the Turkish Air Force bombed Raqqa Governorate for the first time in 17 months. Russian forces are also dissatisfied with the actions of the pro-Turkish formations.
The ceasefire agreement was signed in the Idlib de-escalation zone in March of last year in the presence of the Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A few months earlier, the two leaders also agreed to a ceasefire in northern Syria, thus halting the Turkish military operation against the Kurdish Self-Defense Forces. However, both Moscow and Ankara have complaints about the implementation of both agreements.
Rather, Moscow is trying, at the highest levels, to pretend that everything remains stable in relations with Ankara, despite the existing difficulties. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu indicated in an interview with the Kazakhstani “Tengrinews” agency that Russia and Turkey have succeeded in finding compromises even where this seems impossible.
Nor does Ankara directly accuse Moscow of anything. However, at the same time, President Erdogan, in an article published by Bloomberg in mid-March, on the tenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria, clearly appealed to the West and demanded that it help Ankara end “the tragedy in this country.” Among his options are military, economic and diplomatic measures, as well as investments in “safe areas” in Syria, that is, those under Turkish tutelage. There was no talk of Russia and cooperation with it.
The article expresses only the opinion of the newspaper or writer
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