Source: Al Monitor
By Fehim Tastekin
There are indications that the Syrian army will launch an operation against rebel forces in Idlib in September, after completing operations in the south of the country in Daraa and Quneitra.
The possibility of such an operation against Idlib, where more than 100,000 militants have amassed following rebel evacuations from all over Syria, has made Turkey nervous. On July 14, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that such an operation will be the end of the Astana process that Iran and Russia initiated with Turkey.
On his way to the BRICS summit in South Africa, Erdogan repeated that he will raise the issue with Putin during their meeting there.
“Current developments in Syria regarding both Tel Rifaat and Manbij are not progressing in the desired direction as of now,” Erdogan said. “The only areas where the events are going as desired are Afrin, Jarablus and al-Bab. All these [areas] are fully under our control in the terrain of 4,000 square kilometers [1,545 square miles] we control. We have also held some talks and reached some agreements regarding Manbij and Tel Rifaat. We will certainly discuss all these thoroughly during our one-on-one meeting. One of the challenging issues here is the Daraa issue, and there is also the Idlib issue. Anything can happen in those places.”