Turkey briefs US diplomats on operation in Syria

ANKARA

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on Wednesday briefed senior US diplomats about Ankara's ongoing operation in northwestern Syria.

Kalin told Kelly Craft, Washington's ambassador to the UN, and James Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, that Operation Spring Shield was aimed at a peaceful political solution in Syria.

The meeting in the capital Ankara lasted for one-and-a-half hour.

The officials touched upon a host of issues including the refugee crisis and the recent escalation in Syria's restive province of Idlib.

Kalin said Turkey's operation in Idlib is being held within the framework of the right to self-defense, following the Syrian regime's attacks on Turkish soldiers.

During the meeting, the importance of solidarity within NATO was stressed.

Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on Sunday after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib.

Idlib, just across Turkey’s southern border, falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018.

But the Syrian regime and its allies have consistently broken the terms of the agreement, launching frequent attacks inside the territory, where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Idlib has been a stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit