Turkey Does Not Intend to Escalate Relations with Russia

Turkey is not intending to escalate relations with Russia due to the situation in Syria's Idlib, said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.   "At this stage, we should not enter into conflict or serious disagreements with Russia. We have strategic projects with the Russian Federation, such as the 'TurkStream' and 'Akkuyu' nuclear power plant. There is no question that we will give up on the S-400 air defense system. Those who rise in anger harm themselves," Erdoğan's words are quoted by Sabah newspaper.

At the same time, Erdoğan referred to the incident involving Turkish soldiers being shelled in Idlib as a "clear violation" of the agreement with Russia regarding the escalation zone. According to him, Ankara had previously informed the Russian side about the withdrawal of its forces.