Contrary to the existing agreements between Russia and Turkey on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Idlib de-escalation zone, Turkey in two weeks not only failed to fulfill a single clause of the new agreement, but also additionally deployed its short-range air defense system in Idlib province, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing news agency Aviapro.
We are talking about the ATILGAN air defense system, equipped with 8 anti-aircraft missiles with thermal guidance.
In the photo you can see that the ATILGAN complexes have already been delivered to the Syrian province of Idlib, while experts say that Ankara is ready to use them against the Russian air forces.
“Given the imperfection of Turkish air defense, we can’t even talk about the distinction between Russian and Syrian combat aircraft and helicopters. Thus, Ankara poses a threat to the Russian aerospace forces, and. Obviously, the risks are very serious, however, the fact that Turkey is preparing for a new open confrontation in the SAR is much more serious,” the expert notes.
As for the ATILGAN air defense system itself, in fact, this installation is a complex equipped with 8 Stinger missiles and is a threat only for targets located at altitudes below 4 kilometers.
However, given the fact that the Russian aerospace forces were used in Syria’s Su-25 attack aircraft and Su-24 bombers at heights lower, the danger still exists.
Ankara does not comment on sending its air defense systems to Syria.
On March 5, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, entered into an agreement according to which a ceasefire regime entered into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would be able to use force.
The reason for the Russian-Turkish summit talks was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began. Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind a number of Turkish observation posts.
After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Turkey is also supported by militants loyal to it.
