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Erdogan renews threat to hit Syrian troops to stop advance in Idlib

The Turkish president has again warned Syria it has until the end of this month to halt its Russia-backed offensive against opposition forces that has pushed nearly a million people to the Turkish border.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a joint news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2EME9TJL4X

ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that time is running out for the Syrian government to withdraw its troops from areas around Turkish military outposts in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib or risk escalating a confrontation with Turkey as hundreds of thousands flee Russian and Syrian bombardment for the border.

The threat came as a Russian delegation held another round of talks in Ankara Wednesday on averting an all-out clash as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, supported by Russian firepower, continue to snatch territory in the Turkish-backed opposition’s last stronghold of Idlib.

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