Ankara: Russia was given coordinates of the Turkish military convoy in advance, but it targeted even the ambulances
The strikes on the Turkish military convoy in Syria's Idlib were carried out even though Turkey informed Russia about its location, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, as cited by Anadolu.
According to him, the Russian side was informed in advance about the locations of the Turkish military in the de-escalation zone, but the airstrikes continued despite Ankara's warning. Even military ambulances came under fire.
"The Turkish military, which was in Idlib to secure a truce and prevent a humanitarian crisis in the region, was subjected to a vile attack," Akar said.
He added that in response,” Turkish forces destroyed five helicopters, 23 tanks, SA-17 anti-aircraft missile system, SA-22 anti-aircraft missile system and killed 309 supporters of Assad’s regime” .
Akar also commented on the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry. The Turkish minister stressed that there were no armed groups in the idlib sector at the time of the bombing of the Turkish convoy.
The Turkish Defense Ministry added that they will avenge the death of their soldiers.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claims that the Turkish side handed over the coordinates, but did not provide data on the movement of the Turkish military convoy.