ANKARA, March 4. /TASS/. The presidents of Turkey and France, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emmanuel Macron, held talks by phone on Wednesday, the Turkish presidential office said.
"During the talks, the sides focused on [in Syria’s region of] Idlib and the refugee crisis," the press release said.
On March 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan will hold a summit meeting in Moscow. The Idlib crisis is expected to dominate their talks.
The tensions in Syria’s Idlib region escalated on February 27 after militants unleashed a large-scale offensive, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The Syrian government forces conducted strikes on their positions, which, as Ankara claims, killed 36 Turkish soldiers. In response, Turkey’s Air Force conducted strikes on the Syrian troops, later specifying that more than 200 targets had been hit.
On February 27, Ankara launched a new incursion in Syria dubbed Operation Spring Shield targeting the Syrian government forces and facilities. Previously, Turkey had carried out three offensives into Syria codenamed Operation Euphrates Shield, Operation Olive Branch and Operation Peace Spring. As a result, a buffer security zone was set up between the border towns of Aazaz and Jarabulus, the Syrian town of Afrin was captured, and other areas to the east of the Euphrates River got under control.