Erdogan rules out 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib

Meanwhile, a meeting between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is expected to take place, the Turkish foreign minister said, ahead of a possible summit including EU heavyweights Germany and France to find a political solution to the Idlib crisis.
"We will not take the smallest step back in Idlib," Erdogan told the ruling party's lawmakers in parliament in Ankara.
"We will certainly push the regime outside the borders we designated and ensure the return of the people to their homes."
Now the epicentre of the nearly nine-year long conflict in Syria, Idlib has in recent weeks become the theatre of conflict between Turkey, which supports rebel groups in the area, and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is backed by Russia.
Ankara has confirmed as many as 17 Turkish security personnel have been killed this month alone.
Erdogan bluntly warned the Syrian regime to "stop its attacks as soon as possible" and to pull back by the end of February.
As part of its deal with Russia, Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib but several have come under fire from Assad forces.
"The time we have given to those who besieged our observation towers is running out," Erdogan said.
"We are planning to save our observation posts from the besiegers one way or another by the end of this month."
Erdogan added that "the biggest problem we currently have is that we cannot use the air space" over Idlib which is controlled by Russia.
"God willing, we will find a solution soon."
Shortly after he was speaking, Russian diplomats and military officials arrived in Ankara for talks with their Turkish counterparts. The talks began in the afternoon, according to media reports.
Similar contacts last week ended with no concrete results.
In recent weeks Damascus, backed by Russian air strikes, has pressed a major offensive against the remaining territory held by jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib.
In a statement read on public television, the Syrian army on Wednesday announced it had "regained control" of a dozen areas in recent days, including Kafranbel in the south of Idlib, a town known to have been among the first to rebel against Damascus.
The army vowed to "liberate the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic from terrorism and its supporters".
The United Nations has warned against an imminent "bloodbath" amid the continuing fighting.

While Western capitals have been criticised for failing to exert any influence on the Idlib situation, the foreign ministers of 14 European nations -- including Germany, France, Spain and Ireland -- issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on Moscow and Ankara to "de-escalate" the situation.
Erdogan also said that Turkey has not received "promised" aid from the United States, repeating that Ankara hopes to acquire the US-made Patriot systems -- high performance radars and interceptor missiles capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles in flight.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying on state-run TRT TV, that as a first step "President Erdogan and Putin have agreed to come together at a bilateral meeting."