The killing of 33 soldiers by fire from forces of Russia's ally the Syrian regime - the biggest Turkish military loss on the battlefield in recent years - raised fears of war between the two historic rivals.
MOSCOW, Russia - Russia has no appetite for a military confrontation with Turkey in Idlib but the Kremlin won't step back from its support for the Syrian regime's campaign to regain control of the province.
"Russia is definitely not looking for a full-scale military confrontation with Turkey, nor is Turkey interested in confronting Moscow over Idlib," said Igor Delanoe, deputy director of the Franco-Russian Observatory in Moscow. Delanoe said Moscow believed Ankara had failed to comply with a 2018 agreement on Idlib to root out more extreme rebel fighters and the incident had given Turkey a taste of "what could be the cost of a military adventure in Idlib".The incident came as tensions soared after Erdogan - who has vowed not to take a step back in Idlib - gave Syrian forces a February 29 deadline to pull back from their positions.
Moscow-based expert on Turkey-Russia relations Kerim Has said that Russia's "long-term strategy" for Syria had not changed but it was keen not to antagonise Turkey, especially given the closeness of economic and energy ties as well as the cooperation on the S-400s. While Russian officials were careful not to provoke Turkey any further, the Kremlin said the Turkish troops were not manning observation points agreed under a 2018 deal but positioned among armed groups deemed by Moscow to be "terrorists".Relations between modern Russia and Turkey - whose predecessor empires fought centuries of wars over influence in the Black Sea region - have swung back and forth over the last years.
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