By Merve Berker and Efe Ozkan
ANKARA/ ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by phone for the first time during a National Security Council meeting on Thursday, discussing regional and global issues, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said on Thursday.
Erdogan told Guterres that “the Syrian conflict has reached a new phase, managed with composure,” stressing that “Türkiye’s greatest desire is for Syria to avoid further instability and civilian casualties,” according to a readout issued by the directorate following their talks.
“At this stage, the Syrian regime must urgently engage with its own people to work towards a comprehensive political solution,” the Turkish president emphasized.
He asserted that Ankara has been striving hard to de-escalate tensions, protect civilians, and pave the way for the political process, vowing that it will continue to do so.
Anti-regime groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which has been fighting Assad regime forces since Nov. 27, are pushing deeper into Hama province.
Russian aircraft are supporting Syrian regime forces as fierce clashes continue.
Anti-regime armed groups shot down one of the two helicopters that took off from Hama Military Airport around the city center. The other helicopter, which was hit, made an emergency landing.
The groups clashed with regime forces west of Hama's city center, seizing the villages of Erze, al-Wahshiyya, Kafrtun, and Yadgun before heading southwest to Hama Military Airport.
On Nov. 30, anti-regime groups captured much of central Aleppo following a rapid advance from its western countryside.
The groups also seized the town of Khan Shaykhun, gaining near-total control of Idlib province.
The opposition Syrian National Army, meanwhile, launched Operation Dawn of Freedom against the PKK/YPG terrorist group on Dec. 1, liberating the town of Tel Rifaat.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.
The YPG is PKK's offshoot in Syria, the scene of the current fighting, and an area where the group has tried to establish a “terror corridor” along the Turkish border, with Türkiye deploying troops to prevent this and keep locals safe from terrorist oppression.