... or the United States will be protected from provocations by terrorists. Although Turkey has close relations in Idlib with a number of anti-government Syrian groups affiliated with the so-called “Syrian National Army”, these are weak compared with HTS. This fact has compelled Turkey to not actively oppose HTS. Recently, HTS has re-energised itself and is putting pressure on a number of smaller Idlib groups. The latest big news is connected with a native of the former Soviet Union. According to the Directorate-4 Telegram channel,...
... reminder that “the creation of an Idlib de-escalation zone is a temporary measure”. How “temporary” remains unknown. But, apparently, Rouhani and Putin did make the last “warning” to Erdogan: either before the next April summit in Ankara Turkey is taking effective steps to neutralize the HTS, or Iran and Russia are launching a large-scale operation. The second option not only threatens to echo the fate of Eastern Aleppo, but also evokes a cooling or even gradual deterioration in Russian-Turkish relations. These negative connotations will ...
... enables the return of millions of refugees from Turkey and the EU and forges more incentives for Brussels to finance the reconstruction of a war-torn country. The break of Idlib deal is especially dangerous for the mainstream parties in the EU when far rights gain power from Sweden to Italy.
The single looser of EU–Russia–Turkey alliance is the United States. If four countries agree on Idlib, Russia and Turkey will have more capacity and common ground to raise the question of the American presence in the East Euphrates. Last week Lavrov reminded the US is playing a dangerous ...
... Middle East
The HTS is split on the issue of implementing the Sochi agreements. Consequently, as of the writing of this article, this group has not yet declared its position. The debate between followers of the two major factions still continues in the HTS’s Shura Council. One faction is the pro-Turkey Syrian bloc that insists on withdrawing the HTS forces from the demilitarized zone and further integration into the moderate opposition, since they connect their future with Syria. The other group is comprised of hard-liners, the “intractables,...
