On Thursday, Russian warplanes carried out airstrikes on the city of Idleb, resulting in civilian casualties. According to reports from the White Helmets, the airstrikes targeted a furniture workshop located on the western outskirts of Idleb city.
The attack resulted in the death of one civilian and injuries to five others. The White Helmets confirmed that two warplanes conducted four raids on the site, utilizing high-explosive missiles.
This bombardment in Idleb occurred just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s scheduled visit to Turkey. He was invited by Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday outlined that Lavrov and Fidan would discuss the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Specifically, they planned to focus on the normalization process in Syria and enhancing Turkish-Syrian dialogue in a quadripartite format.
The statement emphasized the importance of involving Iran as a guarantor of the Astana format to facilitate the resolution of the Syrian crisis.
Efforts to establish dialogue between Ankara and the Assad regime have stalled, particularly regarding conflicting priorities such as the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria.
The Assad regime insists on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria as a precondition for any normalization process with Turkey. However, Turkish officials deem this demand unrealistic due to ongoing “terrorist threats” along the border.
Hakan Fidan expressed in a recent television interview that the Syrian regime’s insistence on preconditions is misguided, noting that the regime is currently unable to engage in meaningful negotiations.
The Russian envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, acknowledged that the path to reconciliation between Turkey and the Assad regime encountered obstacles last autumn. He attributed this to the Syrian side’s insistence on guarantees regarding the eventual withdrawal of Turkish military forces from Syria.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
