33 Turkish soldiers have been killed as a result of an airstrike in the Syrian province of Idlib, Rahmi Dogan, the governor of the Hatay province, located close to the Turkish border with Syria, said.
The governor also said 32 wounded are in the hospitals in the country’s southern province of Hatay and their condition is not life-threatening.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a six-hour-long emergency security meeting in Ankara following the air strike on Turkish soldiers.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also spoke to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by telephone following the attack.
Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities remarked that Turkish Armed Forces have destroyed a total of 1,709 “Syrian regime elements” in operations in Idlib since February 10, 2020.
Turkey’s Defence Minister with commanders of air and land forces went to Hatay, to monitor the following steps to be taken.
Russia: We didn’t hit
Moscow official says Russian Air Forces didn’t carry out strikes in area where Turkish servicemen were hit.
NATO Council will hold
Secretary General Stoltenberg announced North Atlantic Council to meet following Turkey’s request for Article 4 consultations on the situation in Syria.
Statement of the Chairman of Vatan Party Doğu Perinçek:
We have to act with the state mind!
Condolences to our great nation!
But right now, instead of talking about martyrs, we need to keep a level head and act with the mind of the state.
Turkey faces challenges, but we will overcome these difficulties. We trust both our president and our army. We definitely won’t go wrong way as revenge.
Turkey, Russia and Iran will resolve this process together.
To enter the war against Syria; this is what USA and Israel want.
Threats coming from the United States and Israel to Turkey. But Turkey has found its true friends.
There is a trap in there! Those who set the trap are the goverments of USA and Israel. Starting a war against Syria would be a step toward trap.
Inviting America and NATO to this process means push us into the trap.
With our own state, we can attract Russia, Iran, and Syria to common sense and friendship with just and correct interventions.
We must be calm, we will successfully get out of this process!
Conclusions:
The situation in Syria is very dangerous. A full-scale war between Turkey and Syria, and even between Turkey and Russia, may become a reality. The only winning party in this war will be the United States, NATO and the EU. They will be very happy to start conflict between Russia and Turkey to regain control over Turkey and dramatically increase pressure on Russia.
At the same time, real support from the U.S. and NATO to Turkey should not be expected. NATO does not like Erdogan, considers his independent policy a threat to the Alliance and aims to topple the Turkish leader. Therefore, they will push the current Turkish regime to conflict with Russia and adventures in Syria and Libya.
The goal is to overstress the Turkish state machine and economy, and then, when a wave of patriotic enthusiasm in society is replaced by disappointment in a failed war, to change the regime in Turkey by organizing a color revolution or coup d’état.
Russia will also be a loser if it enters into full-scale conflict with Turkey. All Russian achievements in Syria would be at risk. Most importantly, however, there will be another blow to the multipolar world project. It is important for Russia that Turkey distance itself from NATO, rather than getting closer to the leadership of the Alliance and the United States.
Turkey’s differences with Russia are tactical in nature. Divisions between Turkey and Russia on the one hand, and the U.S. on the other, are strategic. Ankara and Moscow must urgently find a compromise and stop the bloodshed, otherwise they will be pawns in someone else’s game and all sacrifices will be meaningless.