BICOM

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Turkish military personnel will not withdraw from Syria until a general election is held in the country.

Speaking at the TFT World Forum in Istanbul on Thursday, Erdoğan said his forces are not experiencing any difficulty holding talks with radical groups in Idlib, the last major rebel-controlled enclave outside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s control. Turkey has a substantial military presence in Idlib, northwest Afrin and further east, near Jarabulus.

Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed last month to set up a 15-20km demilitarised zone between rebel and government fighters in Idlib, preventing a full-scale regime assault on the province. The demilitarised zone will be patrolled by Russian and Turkish soldiers. Turkey said it would ensure that all groups withdraw heavy weapons, including tanks, rocket and mortar launchers by 10 October and that radical groups would withdraw by 15 October.

Putin said the agreement would entail a “withdrawal of all radical fighters” from Idlib, including the al-Nusra Front, referring to Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which poses a “threat both to the city of Aleppo and our military facilities in Syria, namely in Tartus and Hmeymim”.

On 24 September US National Security Advisor John Bolton said the US would maintain a military presence in Syria until Iran withdraws its forces. “We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias”. Iran has also announced it intends to stay in Syria.