Turkish president speaks with German leader by phone

By Enes Kaplan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with his German counterpart about recent developments including Idlib and the refugee crises, Turkey’s Communications Directorate said early Tuesday.

In a statement, the directorate said Erdogan and Chancellor Angela Merkel also discussed bilateral relations.

On the refugee crisis, the directorate said Erdogan stressed that everyone should fulfill their international obligations by sharing responsibilities fairly.

Syria’s northwestern Idlib province is home to four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

In recent months, nearly 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime and its allies.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression were expressly prohibited.

But since then, more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in airstrikes and shelling by the regime and its allies.

On Sunday, Turkey announced a new offensive, Operation Spring Shield, in northwestern Syria to protect civilians from regime attacks.

It came after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred and dozens injured in an Assad regime airstrike in the de-escalation zone just across Turkey’s southern border on Feb. 27.

Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under the September 2018 deal with Russia.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut