Today is the last day before the end of the Ramadan fast according to the lunar calendar, for those observing it in Turkey. In keeping with the significance of “Arife,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the nation in a televised speech. As expected, he railed at outside forces bent on destroying Turkey and vowed they would not be allowed to succeed. Unusually, as the self-styled champion of Syria’s Sunni Arabs, a worn and deflated-looking Erdogan did not utter a peep about the regime violence unfolding in the rebel-held province of Idlib.
The latest Russian-backed regime offensive against Idlib is seen as the biggest escalation of the war since last summer — and a failure of Ankara’s efforts to put it off.