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Turkish President: "If Turkish troops harmed again, Turkey to strike at Syrian forces everywhere"

12 February 2020 12:55 (UTC +04:00)

If Turkish soldiers in Syria are again targeted, Turkey will strike at Syrian government forces regardless of the 2018 Sochi deal with Russia, Turkey’s president said on Wednesday, APA reports citing Anadolu Agency.

"If any harm comes to our soldiers in observation posts [in Idlib] or anywhere [in Syria], I declare from there that we will hit regime forces everywhere regardless of the Sochi deal," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his party's parliamentary group.

Turkey is determined to push back Syrian forces from Turkey’s observation posts in Idlib by the end of February, said Erdogan. The observation posts were established in 2018 under the Astana peace process.

To push back the Syrian forces, Turkey “will do what is necessary via land and air without hesitation," added Erdogan.

The Syrian people’s fight for freedom is also Turkey’s fight, he said.