Escalating military action by Russia and Turkey in Idlib risks a direct confrontation between the two major foreign powers in Syria's war, days ahead of a summit of their leaders to hammer out a deal to halt the fighting. Both countries say they hope to avoid a head-on clash, but after Turkey ramped up attacks on Russian-backed Syrian forces and Russian military police helped secure a town seized from Turkey-backed rebels, all sides acknowledge the risk.
Turkey says it has shot down three Syrian planes and destroyed eight helicopters and scores of tanks since last Thursday, when 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike, the deadliest attack on the Turkish army in nearly 30 years. In response to the Turkish assault and advances by Turkey-backed rebels, Moscow said on Monday that Russian military police had helped drive back rebels from Saraqeb and entered the strategic town which has changed hands three times in a month.
"We need to accept that this incident raised tensions between the two countries," a Turkish security official said of last week's attack on Turkish troops. "Turkey does not intend to clash with Russia in any way, and Russia does not want that either," he said. "But on the battlefield it's another story. It's so complicated that an accidental attack on one another is the biggest risk." -Full Report
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