Military operations

Turkish and Russian delegations are set to meet in Moscow on February 17 amid escalated tension in the Syrian province of Idlib where the Turkish and Syrian military forces pit against each other with concerns of fresh armed conflicts between the two.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will attend the Munich Security Conference 2020, where he will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov amid escalation in Syria's Idlib province, Kremlin announced.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar had separate meetings with his British and French counterparts in Brussels on Feb. 13.

Akar visited NATO headquarters on the second day of NATO defense ministers meeting.

He met with U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace before attending a session on defense, deterrence and burden-sharing.

Turkey will use force against rebel groups violating a ceasefire in Syria's northwest Idlib region, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday, in an apparent response to Russian criticism.

As tensions continue to rise in the last Syrian rebel bastion of Idlib, Russia and the United States are now battling, in Turkish, on an unprecedented turf: Twitter.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara posted a video on its Twitter account with the caption "Eyes on Idlib."

The video's message voiced solidarity with Turkey and said the U.S. will "use its power for peace in Syria."

Turkish and U.S. officials met on Feb. 12 in the capital Ankara to discuss the latest developments in northwestern Syria.

Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu, U.S. special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey and U.S. ambassador to Turkey Michael Satterfield exchanged views on regional security issues, especially the situation in Idlib province.

Scores of Syrian regime elements were "neutralized" on Feb. 12 in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, the Turkish Defense Ministry has said.

"According to information conveyed by several sources in Idlib region, it has been learned that 55 regime elements were neutralized today," said the statement.

Turkey's military will strike Syrian government forces by air or ground anywhere in Syria if another Turkish soldier is hurt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Russian and Turkish presidents discussed the latest developments in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria over phone, the Kremlin said on Feb. 12.

Turkey's military will strike the Syrian regime's forces by air or ground anywhere in Syria if another Turkish soldier is hurt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 12.