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The urgent conversation Trump, Putin need to have about Syria

As Idlib refugee crisis grows, US risks superpower confrontation over missiles.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1A050005F0

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week said that a military escalation in Idlib is “a matter of time” unless President Bashar al-Assad’s army withdraws to de-escalation boundaries agreed with Russia back in September 2018. 

If the United States provides Patriot missile defense systems to Turkey, as Ankara has asked, it could further embolden Erdogan. The result could be an escalation that would exacerbate the terrible suffering of the Syrian people, while increasing the risk of a US-Russian confrontation in Syria.

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