Türkiye closely monitoring Syria amid renewed clashes: Erdogan

Türkiye is closely following developments in Syria and taking necessary precautions amid renewed clashes between the Bashar al-Assad regime and opposition forces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

“We are closely following the developments that erupted suddenly in our neighbor Syria over the past few days,” Erdogan said during a joint news conference with Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic in Ankara.

Erdogan emphasized that Ankara is monitoring the situation based on Türkiye’s national security priorities and has taken all necessary actions to prevent further escalation.

“Our greatest wish is for Syria’s territorial integrity to be preserved and for instability to end with a consensus that aligns with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people,” Erdogan said, adding that Türkiye is ready to do “whatever we must to extinguish the fire” in the region.

Fighting between Assad’s forces and opposition groups erupted on Nov. 27 in the western countryside of Aleppo, breaking a period of relative calm in the long-running civil war that began in 2011.