Turkey, Russia mull military operation in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed a military operation in Syria during a telephone conversation, Turkish Haber7 newspaper reported on August 26.

According to the newspaper, the details of the telephone conversation are not disclosed.

Fikri Isik, Turkish national defense minister, said earlier that Russia and the US have been informed about Turkey’s military operations in Syria.

On Aug. 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircraft launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.

The operation was carried out under the name “Shield of the Euphrates.”

Earlier, it was reported that Turkish tanks entered Syria. Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) is the most active terrorist group in Syria.