Russian attacks in Syria’s Afrin are messages to Turkey: Politician
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, a Syrian politician said that the recent Russian strikes in Syria’s Afrin are messages directed at Turkey before the scheduled meeting between the presidents of both countries at the end of September.
On Sunday, more than 30 members of pro-Turkish Syrian armed factions were wounded and killed in an attack carried out by Russian warplanes of the headquarters of al-Hamza faction in Berad village, southeast of Afrin region, north Aleppo.
“The latest Russian strikes on the opposition sites in Afrin are messages to pressure Turkey,” said Abdulrahman al-Issa, a politician in Raqqa city, north Syria.
“The Russian-Turkish military confrontation is unlikely to take place in Syria, but any meeting or conference between the presidents or officials of both countries are preceded by messages,” al-Issa added.
A meeting between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterparts Vladimir Putin is scheduled to be held in Sochi by the end of September.
Both sides will discuss the Syrian issue, strengthening trade relations, and the possibility for Turkey to obtain more defense systems and Russian aircraft.
Russian-Turkish consensus is evident in the mutual bombardment of many regions of north Syria, “but Turkey has gone beyond that when it targeted Russian forces’ areas in Syria with drones,” according to al-Issa.
He added that the bombing of Afrin is a direct Russian pressure on the Turkish military presence in Syria, aiming at delivering a message that “the Russians are able to target factions linked to Turkey whenever they want.”
Since 2018, Turkish-backed armed Syrian factions have been controlling Afrin and its districts in the northern countryside of Aleppo.