Turkey's opposition parties call for dialogue with Assad
Turkey's opposition parties have called on the Turkish government to engage in dialogue with Damascus administration to prevent further Turkish casualties in Idlib.
As clashes in northwestern Syria bring the Turkish death toll to 14, Turkey’s opposition parties are lambasting the ruling party for bypassing parliament in the decision-making process on Idlib, calling for a dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The clashes between Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and forces loyal to Assad in Syria’s last rebel bastion topped the country’s agenda as the Turkish death toll climbed. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 45 soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
The number of casualties suffered between Feb. 3-10 has led many to wonder why Turkey is involved in the Idlib escalation. The Turkish public is questioning why Turkish troops are in an area far from Turkey's border.
Turkey's parliamentary opposition parties, which represent some 50% of the population, raised similar questions. Worried that the number of Turkish deaths will rise, the main opposition party invited Erdogan to parliament and called for a plenary session to brief the general assembly and discuss the course of events in Idlib. Yet ruling party members rejected the motion of the Republican People's Party (CHP).
