At 8:55 a.m. Aug. 19, a Syrian Su-22 fighter jet attacked a pickup truck of Faylaq al-Sham, a Free Syrian Army faction that Russia describes as a terror outfit. The vehicle was part of a Turkish convoy en route to reinforce the No. 9 Morek observation post in the rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement later that day that it had notified Russian authorities about the Turkish convoy before it began its journey at 5:30 a.m. Nevertheless, the convoy was struck.
Turkey's statement points out that Russia turned a blind eye to the attack that killed three people and wounded others, including a Turkish soldier. Currently, Ankara is trying to determine whether Russia's failure to stop the airstrike was negligent or intentional. The question everyone in Ankara is asking right now is: Are Turkish-Russian relations heading toward a messy divorce?
