Saudi jets are due to arrive at a Turkish base this week take part in the air campaign against ISIS in Syria, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. Will Saudi Arabia strike Assad army like Putin is striking Saudi-backed Syrian rebels?
“We are expecting the planes to arrive today or tomorrow (Friday),” Cavusoglu told the state-run Anatolia news agency, adding that Saudi equipment and personnel had already arrived on the ground.
The planes are to be stationed at the Incirlik base, which is already hosting US, British and French war planes taking part in the strikes against IS fighters in Syria.
Private NTV television said four Saudi F-15 jets would arrive at Incirlik on Friday. It said that 30 ground personnel and equipment had already arrived aboard C-130 Hercules military transport planes on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey both see the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as essential for ending Syria’s five-year civil war and are bitterly critical of Iran and Russia’s support of the Syrian regime.
The two countries have in recent months moved to considerably tighten relations that had been damaged by Riyadh’s role in the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi, a close ally of Ankara.
Ankara has said it is in favor of a ground operation in Syria, but only if it is conducted in coordination with Saudi Arabia and other Western and Gulf members of the anti-ISIS coalition.
“We have since the beginning argued for the necessity of ground operations and all kinds of strategic moves to be carried out in addition to the air campaign,” Cavusoglu said.
The Syrian civil war, which began with peaceful protesters marching against the terror and the tyranny of the Assad regime, has cost already 470,000 lives according to the latest and most accurate figures published by the New York Times.
AFP contributed to this article.
Will Saudi Arabia Strike Assad Army Like Putin is Striking Syrian Rebels?
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