The Turkish army attacked the positions of Russian troops in Syria, reports North Press Agancy on Twitter, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing RNS agency.
“The Turkish military attacked the positions of the Russian military in the village of Kashta-ar, Sharran district, Afrin region, in the northeast of Aleppo,” the statement said.
According to media reports, a village in the Sharran region in the border Kurdish region of Afrin came under fire. There were Russian troops, the publication said.
Earlier it was reported that the Turkish military came under artillery fire. According to Ankara, the attack was carried out by Syrian government forces in Idlib. Turkish aircraft later retaliated against targets in Syria, Rosbalt said in a statement.
This attack was the main reason for phone call between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. Erdogan underlined that Turkey would continue to use its right of self defense against similar attacks, according to a statement by the Turkish Communications Directorate, Anadolu agency reported.
Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey does not intend to aggravate relations with Russia due to the situation in Idleb. The Turkish leader noted the presence of joint strategic facilities with Moscow, DelovoeTV reports.
In this regard, the president explained, “there is no need to enter into conflict with Russia at this stage.” One of the main projects is the supply of Russian S-400 systems, as well as Turkish Stream.
On February 3, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that in Syrian Idlib, eight people died as a result of shelling Turkish positions, the Associated Press reported.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said that the shelling was carried out by Syrian government forces. It was emphasized that their location was previously agreed.
Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Turkish military was moving inside the Idlib de-escalation zone without notice to the Russian side and came under fire that the Syrian government forces opened on terrorists. It is noted that the Russian military maintains contact with the Turkish command. In addition, the evacuation of the wounded to the territory of Turkey was organized.
Then the head of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Hulusi Accar, said that the Turkish army as a result of attacks on the positions of the Syrian government forces destroyed 76 Syrian troops, Anadolu reported.
On February 4, Erdogan said that Ankara should come into conflict with Russia after the situation in Idlib, CNN Turk reported. Turkish President recalled cooperation with Russia in the field of nuclear energy.
In particular, the construction of Akkuyu NPP in Turkey, the equipment for which is supplied by the Russian Atomenergomash.
