LONDON–Russia has deployed two state-of-the-art warships to the Middle East. This follows an attack in Syria that killed 33 Turkish soldiers.
Videos on social media show Admiral Makarov and Admiral Grigorovich making their way through Bosporus on two of Russia’s newest guided missile frigates.
Russia and Turkey have seemed like they’ve had a harmonious relationship in recent years. However, they support opposing goals when it comes to Syria. While Ankara backs rebel groups that oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow backs al-Assad.
Turkish forces in Idlib came under Syrian government fire while they operated alongside “terrorist formations,” said the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday.
“[Russian forces] have constantly requested and confirmed with their Turkish colleagues the coordinates of the location of all units of the Turkish armed forces positioned near the areas of terrorist actions,” said the Russian statement.
The statement also said that Russia wasn’t notified by Turkey that its troops were operating in the region. It also denied that any Russian aircraft were conducting air strikes in the region.
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At a press conference on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered condolences for the Turkish soldiers who lost their lives, and the stress and depression their families are suffering through. But he also said the incident could have been avoided. He said Ankara did not honor a de-confliction agreement between the two armies in the region.
Turkey is now deciding how to respond to the killing of their soldiers by Russian-backed Syrian forces. There is a possibility of a wider Turkish assault against Syrian forces in Idlib.
In 2017, military tensions flared when a Russian aircraft was shot down by Turkey. The aircraft had strayed into Turkish airspace while conducting bombing runs on rebel forces backed by Ankara in north-western Syria.
Turkey eventually signed on to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems after backing down from that standoff, and Presidents Recep Erdogan and Vladimir Putin have attempted to foster closer ties, though it came at the expense of NATO relations with Turkey.
Now that tensions are once again flaring between Turkey and Russia, President Erdogan is seeking help. NATO plans to hold a meeting at Turkey’s request to consult about the situation in Syria with Ankara on Friday.
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