Kremlin tells Turkey it cannot guarantee safety of its planes over Idlib

The Kremlin on March 2 drew Turkey's attention to a warning from the Russian Defense Ministry that Moscow could not guarantee the safety of Turkish planes flying in Syria after Damascus said it was closing the air space over the Idlib region. A day earlier, a source in the Syrian Defense Ministry said on March 1 that Turkish F-16 fighter jets had downed two Syrian warplanes over the Idlib de-escalation zone, the pilots had ejected themselves.

Duvar English

The Kremlin on March 2 drew Turkey's attention to a warning from the Russian Defense Ministry that Moscow could not guarantee the safety of Turkish planes flying in Syria after Damascus said it was closing the air space over the Idlib region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would hold talks on Syria in Moscow on March 5.

Erdoğan hopes for Idlib ceasefire in talks with Putin on March 5Erdoğan hopes for Idlib ceasefire in talks with Putin on March 5

A day earlier, Oleg Zhuravlev, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said that Russian task force’s command cannot guarantee safety of Turkish aircraft’s flights over Syria.

According to Zhuravlev, the Syrian government was forces to declare the closure of airspace over Syria’s Idlib governorate.

"In such conditions, the command of the Russian task force cannot guarantee safety of flights by Turkish planes over Syria," TASS cited Zhuravlev as saying.

A source in the Syrian Defense Ministry said earlier on March 1 that Turkish F-16 fighter jets had downed two Syrian warplanes over the Idlib de-escalation zone, the pilots had ejected themselves. The source also said that Syrian air defense systems had destroyed six Turkish drones.

NATO allies looking for what further can be done to support TurkeyNATO allies looking for what further can be done to support Turkey

"Reports citing internet resources that a Su-24 plane of the Russian aerospace forces had been hit from a man-portable air defense system in the airspace over the Idlib de-escalation zone are not true," Zhuravlev said.