On 28 February 2020, Turkey said that the positions of Syrian government forces inside Idlib would become ‘legitimate targets’. Turkish angry reaction came after Syrian airstrike that killed 33 Turkish soldiers.
On the other side, Turkey’s communications director said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to meet in person in a phone conversation. According to him, Erdogan emphasized during the conversation with Putin that Turkey will take revenge. Turkey considers all elements of the Syrian government forces inside Idlib is “legitimate target” of Turkish military.
Erdogan also said Turkey would expect that the Syrian government will be obliged to comply with the Sochi agreement.
In another development, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that the attack on Turkish troops occurred although the location of Turkish forces was known by Russia. He also added that there were no armed groups near Turkish soldiers at time of the Idlib attack.
Russia earlier said that Turkish troops “were in with the terrorist groups” and according to information provided by Turkey there were no Turkish troops in the area.