US delegation to visit Ankara for talks on Syria

ANKARA

A U.S. delegation will visit Turkey tonight to hold talks on the situation in the embattled province of Idlib, Syria, diplomatic sources said on Monday.

The delegation will be accompanied by Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, and James Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria and a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

During their visit, the U.S. delegation is also expected to meet representatives of the UN and NGOs to discuss the humanitarian crisis of some one million refugees fleeing attacks by the Assad regime and its allies in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

Turkey on Sunday launched Operation Spring Shield after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred and dozens injured in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, just across Turkey’s southern border.

Turkey’s only target during the operation is Assad regime soldiers and elements in Idlib under the nation's right to self-defense, stressed Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

The martyred Turkish soldiers were working to protect local civilians under a September 2018 deal with Russia, which prohibits acts of aggression in Idlib.

But more than 1,300 civilians have since been killed in attacks by Assad and Russian forces in the zone, as the cease-fire continues to be violated, sending about a million refugees towards Turkey's border with Syria.