Reuters: Russia strengthens Positions in Syria before Putin and Erdogan Negotiations

Over the past six days, Moscow has sent five large anti-submarine and landing ships to the Syrian coast. Russia is rapidly accelerating its military positions in Syria by sea and by air on the eve of negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, planned in Moscow on Thursday. Reuters reports this with reference to the data of services that monitor the aircraft and ships flights. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan agreed to meet on the backdrop of tension burst between the two countries after Syrian government forces (supported by Moscow) clashed with the rebels (who are Ankara’s allies). As a result of hostilities, there was a threat of a direct clash between the Turkish and Russian military operating in the immediate vicinity of the warring parties. Erdogan hopes negotiations will lead to a ceasefire in Idlib. Reuters agency analyzed data from services that track aircraft flights and ship movements in the Bosphorus Strait in northwestern Turkey. It turned out that Russia began to increase air and sea supplies to Syria on February 28, a day after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed during the air raid in Syria. As a result of the incident, Moscow got worried that Turkey might close the Bosphorus to Russian warships and prohibit Russian military aircraft to use Turkish airspace. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet responded to the comment request. The representative of Turkey, who did not want to introduce himself, said that there were no plans to block the strait for Russian ships. However, Russia seems to be strengthening its position in Syria as fast as possible since October, when the US military left some parts of Syria and Moscow tried to quickly fill the vacuum. According to data on shipping through the Bosphorus, starting on February 28, Russia sent five warships towards Syria over six days. This is significantly higher than usual - one or two vessels per week. The Russian military reported the shipment of the anti-submarine ships Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Makarov to Syria. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not report the sending of three more ships. Among the ships sent to the coast of Syria - the landing ship "Orsk", designed to carry 20 tanks, 50 trucks or 45 armored personnel carriers and up to 400 troops. Other military vessels include the landing ships Novocherkassk and Caesar Kunikov, designed to transport up to 300 troops, tanks and armored vehicles. In response, Turkey tightened the escort protocol for Russian ships passing through the Bosphorus. Russian anti-submarine ships passed through the strait accompanied by three Turkish patrol boats and a helicopter. Usually ships are accompanied by one coast guard vessel.