Military operations

The U.S. special envoy for Syria visited Turkey on Feb. 11 to re-evaluate the recent developments in the region.

Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboğa International Airport, James Jeffrey said Turkey, as a NATO ally, encountered a great threat in Idlib, northwestern Syria, coming from the Assad regime and Russia.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the Syrian government will pay a "very heavy price" for attacking Turkish troops in northwest Syria's Idlib region, where 13 soldiers have been killed in just over a week, prompting a retaliation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 11 vowed that the Syrian regime, which attacked Turkish troops in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, would pay a "heavy price."

The president also said he would announce a series of new steps on Feb. 12 that Turkey would take against Bashar al-Assad's regime over attacks on Turkish soldiers in Idlib.

Turkey said it retaliated on Feb. 10 after intense shelling by Syrian forces killed five soldiers and wounded five others in Syria's northern Idlib province, a marked escalation a week after a similarly deadly clash between the two sides.

Five Turkish soldiers were killed and five others were injured in a Syrian regime artillery attack in Idlib province of Syria, as the Turkish army retaliated against the regime forces, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Feb. 10.

Turkey has made alternative plans for northwestern Syria's Idlib province if the deal made with Russia for maintaining the cease-fire in the province continues to be violated, and Ankara has conveyed this message several times to its partners, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said.

Turkish hosted a Russian delegation in the capital Ankara on Feb. 8 to discuss the escalating situation in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

According to diplomatic sources, the Turkish and Russia delegations held a three-hour meeting which stressed the need to ensure peace on the ground and discussed steps to boost political process.

Russian officials had talks with Turkish interlocutors on Feb. 8 aimed at stopping the Syrian government's offensive in Syria's northwestern Idlib region and halting an imminent humanitarian catastrophe there.

In Ankara, officials from Turkey and Russia held three hours of talks, agreeing to meet again next week, the Foreign Ministry said after the initial talks.

Turkey will use its right of self-defense in the strongest manner if Turkey faces a new attack in Syria, the Defense Ministry said on Feb. 8.

"In the event of a new attack, the proper response will be given in the strongest manner based on the right of self-defense," the ministry said in a statement.

Amid heightened tensions between Ankara and Damascus, Turkey's Defense Ministry has vowed to respond to any attack against Turkish observation posts in Syria's northwestern Idlib region.

During a briefing at the ministry, military sources told state-run Anadolu Agency that Turkey will respond to any attack against its observation posts in the most "intense way as possible."