Türkiye’s priority is maintaining calm in Syria's Idlib, adjacent region: Foreign Ministry

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye’s prime concern is preserving stability in Syria's Idlib and the area close to it, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

“Maintaining calm in Idlib and the adjacent region, which is at the zero point of our border, is a priority for Türkiye,” ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said in a statement.

Mentioning that several agreements have been achieved on the de-escalation zone of Idlib since 2017, Keceli said Ankara “diligently” fulfills the requirements of all agreements to which it is a party.

The remarks come after armed groups opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad are said to have broken through to the city center of Aleppo, taking control 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) of territory. According to sources, they have also entered the strategically important town of Saraqib in Idlib.

“We have warned on various international platforms that the recent attacks on Idlib have reached a level that undermines the spirit and implementation of the Astana agreements and that there have been large civilian casualties,” said Keceli.

“We have emphasized that these attacks must come to an end. In fact, the recent clashes have resulted in an undesirable escalation of tensions in the region,” he added.

For Türkiye, preventing further and greater instability, and ensuring the safety of civilians, is of the highest importance, he underlined.

Ankara is also “closely monitoring” the rise in attacks on civilians and on Türkiye by terrorist groups in Tal Rifaat and Manbij, who are attempting to exploit the current instability, he said.

“We are further concerned that the previous agreements reached with the relevant parties to end the terrorist presence in these areas have not yet been fulfilled,” the official said.

In accordance with the commitment to Syria's unity and territorial integrity, as well as the priority to combat terrorism, Türkiye is closely monitoring the developments, he concluded.

Civil war in Syria continues since 2011.