President Donald Trump has urged Russia to stop supporting the “atrocities” of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the White House announced on Sunday.
During a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump “expressed concern over the violence in Idleb” in northwestern Syria and “expressed the wish of the United States to assist at the end of Russian support for the atrocities of the Assad regime, “said the US presidency.
Supported by air strikes by its Russian ally, Syrian regime troops recently intensified their assault on the Idleb region, where the last rebel stronghold is located, killing hundreds of people.
Under a de-escalation agreement concluded in 2018 between Moscow and Ankara, Turkey has twelve observation posts in the province of Idleb.
But tension has increased between Ankara and Moscow after the death of 14 Turks killed in the bombing of Syrian government forces in the region. A Turkish delegation is scheduled to visit Moscow on Monday after a visit by Russian officials last week, which has failed to yield any concrete agreement.
