Turkey’s military observation posts in Syria’s Idlib will retain their current status with the Russian-Turkish ceasefire deal, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was cited as saying by his office on Friday, adding that the agreement laid the groundwork for the normalization of the region, Reuters reported.
Turkey and Russia announced the agreement on Thursday to contain an escalating conflict in Syria’s northwest. The deal did not address some key Turkish demands including withdrawal of Syrian government forces from its observation posts.
Speaking on his return flight from Moscow, Erdoğan also said the United States might have sent military support to Turkey for Idlib if there had been no ceasefire.
He also reiterated that Turkey would next month activate the Russian S-400 defense system it purchased despite protests from Washington, adding that he had also asked for US Patriot missiles.