US senator urges NATO to back Turkey in Syria

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio urged NATO on Wednesday to back Turkey with air defense support in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province.

The Florida Republican said on Twitter that the situation in the war-torn country is getting more dangerous.

“NATO should provide Turkey with Air Defense & Intelligence support & financial aid to NGOs dealing with refugees inside Syria,” Rubio tweeted.

He also called on Moscow to withdraw its troops surrounding Turkish military observation posts in Idlib.

His remarks came days after Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield to repel forces of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Idlib.

The Syrian regime backed by Russia embarked on a new offensive in the conflict-hit province in December, displacing more than 900,000 Syrians.

In recent weeks, regime attacks have left up to 60 Turkish troops martyred and retaliation by Turkish forces resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 Syrian regime forces.