Putin man in the middle between Assad, Erdogan over Idlib
A Syrian government attack on Idlib could upend the Astana accord.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is counting on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to prevent a Syrian military attack on Idlib, which, Erdogan said, could destroy the Astana accord.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said July 26, “Idlib is our goal, but not just Idlib. … The military — and it is at their discretion — will decide priorities and Idlib is one of these priorities."
“I asked for the necessary intervention by him [Putin] on this subject. My hope is, God willing, he will do what is necessary,” Erdogan said after meeting with Putin that same day on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
While Russia continues to work its shuttle diplomacy to broker an understanding regarding red lines between Iran and Israel in Syria, as we reported here last week, Putin is also carrying much of the diplomatic water to prevent an escalation in the north between Turkey and Syria.
