“If all of the terrorists aren’t removed ... as it has been promised to us, I repeat once again that we have a legitimate reason to intervene at any moment we feel the need to,” Erdogan said. His comments came days after a suspected Kurdish militant — whom officials said had infiltrated into Turkey from Syria — blew himself up in a town in the border province of Hatay, following a police chase. Security officials killed a second militant. In his first remarks on Monday’s airstrike that killed dozens of fighters, Erdogan said: “Russia’s attack targeting the Syrian National Army forces’ training center is a sign that a lasting peace and calm is not wanted in the region.”
The strike was the deadliest in Idlib since a Turkish-Russian-brokered truce there came into effect in March. It occurred as relations between Russia and Turkey show increasing signs of strain over Ankara’s military involvement in Syria, the Caucasus Mountains and in Libya, where Moscow also has interests. In Syria, Russia is a main supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government. -Full Report
