Turkey Reaches Out to Russia as Idlib Assault Risks Refugee Wave
Damaged buildings following a Syrian government airstrike in Idlib on Dec. 18.
Photographer: Izzeddin Idilbi/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Turkey will send a delegation to Moscow on Monday to seek a reprieve from President Vladimir Putin after Russian-backed Syrian forces stepped up an offensive on the country’s last major rebel bastion, threatening a new refugee wave.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, with Russian air support, escalated its attacks against the northwestern province of Idlib, controlled by onetime al-Qaeda affiliates along with Turkey-backed rebels. The showdown is unleashing an exodus toward Turkey, which already shelters the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world.