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The last 24 Hours in Syria, February 3

Zura Batiashvili, Research Fellow at Rondeli Foundartion

• To deter the forces of Russia and the Assad regime (it has already led to the influx of tens of thousands of new refugees into Turkey), Turkey sent large military convoys (including tanks) to Idlib province, that have already taken strategic positions.  
• Shortly after the bilateral hostilities between the Turkish and Syrian armed forces, an additional unit was deployed, as a result of which many soldiers died on both sides (6 Turkish soldiers were killed);
• Russian military aircraft continued to bomb the Idlib province, which again led to civilian casualties;
• After the incident in Idlib, the President  of Turkey flew to Kyiv saying that Ankara would assist the Ukrainian army (including the provision of financial support);
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan avoided annoying Moscow, but this time he directly accused Russia of violating peace treaties signed with Syria;
• Following the incident, joint Russian-Turkish patrols in northeastern Syria, operating since November 2019, were suspended;
• The fate of the three Turkish checkpoints (actually military bases) in the province of Idlib, besieged by the Syrian army, is still unclear;