Turkey warns that the attack on Idlib in Syria would provoke a humanitarian catastrophe

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday in a Wall Street Journal article that a Syrian government offensive in the Idlib region in the north of the country would entail humanitarian and security risks. for Turkey, Europe and other countries.

Last week, Russian and Syrian warplanes resumed their bombing campaign in Idlib, the last rebel enclave in Syria, after weeks of silence, apparently as a prelude to a large-scale offensive.

Erdogan failed to secure a commitment for a ceasefire by Russia and Iran, the main supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, at a trilateral summit in Tehran.

In the newspaper article, Erdogan called on the international community to act and warned that "the whole world is willing to pay the price" otherwise.

"All members of the international community must understand their responsibilities as the aggression of Idlib looms. The consequences of inaction are immense, "said Erdogan.

"A regime aggression would also create serious humanitarian and security risks for Turkey, the rest of Europe and beyond."

Idlib is the only major insurgent stronghold and a government offensive could be the last decisive battle of the war.

Tehran and Moscow helped Assad turn the tide of war against a range of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to Islamist militants. Turkey is one of the main supporters of the opposition that has troops in the country and erected 12 observation posts around Idlib.

At the Tehran summit, Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed in a statement that there could be no military solution to the conflict and that this could only end in a negotiated political process. .

Erdogan had also called for a truce, but Putin said it would be pointless, as it would not involve militant Islamist groups that Russia sees as terrorists, and Rouhani said Syria should take over control of all its territory.

On Tuesday, Erdogan said that Russia and Iran are also responsible for stopping a humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib, and said the international community must "throw its weight behind a political solution."

Earlier, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was quoted as saying that the air and ground attacks against Idlib should stop immediately and that a ceasefire was to be established in the region.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

In recent days, US officials have reported evidence that Syrian government forces were preparing chemical weapons before a planned Idlib onslaught.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump's security advisor said that the United States, Britain and France had agreed that another use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would result in a "much stronger response". .

Erdogan said focusing on the potential use of chemical weapons was not enough.

"It is crucial that the United States, which has focused on chemical attacks, reject their arbitrary hierarchy of death. Conventional weapons are responsible for many more deaths, "he said.

Turkey and the United Nations have already warned of a massacre and a humanitarian disaster involving tens of thousands of civilians in the event of a major offensive.

The United States Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday that more than 30,000 people have fled their homes in northwestern Syria since the resumption of bombing in the area and warned that an operation in Idlib could put 800,000 people at risk.

Turkey, which currently hosts some 3.5 million refugees, also said it could not accommodate more migrants if an attack on Idlib had caused a new influx of refugees to its border.