UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM FOREIGN MINISTER
By Tevfik Durul, Nazli Yuzbasioglu and Omer Tugrul Cam
ANKARA (AA) – Amid continued carnage and hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing northwestern Syria, the Astana and Sochi peace processes for Syria have not completely ended but are damaged, said Turkey’s foreign minister on Tuesday.
Turkey disapproves of Russia excusing Assad regime attacks by saying “we can’t fully control the regime,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after an Asia Anew meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Cavusoglu voiced concerns about the health of the Astana peace process, launched in 2017 in the former Kazakh capital, and the Sochi process, which in September 2018 established an oft-violated cease-fire for Idlib, northwestern Syria.
Last week Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, said Russia is not abiding by the agreements, and urged it to do so.
On the deadly Assad regime attack on Turkish troops in Idlib on Monday, Cavusoglu said that he had told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that if the regime continues harassment fire on Turkey’s observation posts in the region, Turkey will respond.
"Of course we responded” to the Assad regime forces after Monday's attack, he added. “They suffered many casualties."
He explained: “We won’t stop here. It is necessary to stop the regime's aggression as soon as possible."
The Assad regime consistently uses the pretext of “terrorists” to violate the Idlib cease-fire, he said.
On Monday, an Assad regime attack in Idlib, near the area Turkey has carried out anti-terrorism operations, martyred seven Turkish soldiers and one civilian contractor working with the Turkish military.
After the attack, Turkey struck over 50 targets in retaliation and killed 76 Syrian soldiers, according to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
The Assad regime and its allies have consistently broken the terms of the 2018 Idlib cease-fire – including a fresh cease-fire declared on Jan. 12 – by launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians.
More than one million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year, including tens of thousands last month alone.
Turkey remains the country with most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million Syrian migrants since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Idlib is currently home to some four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces from throughout the war-weary country.
– US’ so-called Mideast peace plan
On the U.S.’ so-called peace plan announced last week, Cavusoglu reiterated that the Muslim world has rejected the occupation and annexation plan.
"We need to cooperate with everyone who is against Israel's persecution," he said, adding that Turkey will always stand with the Palestinians.
There have been decisions on the UN level with the help of Turkey on Israel’s persecution of Palestine, he said.
The so-called “Deal of the Century” unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and suggests giving Israel almost everything they have been demanding.
