"Russian warplanes have not carried out strikes in the area where Turkish troops were. Russia have done everything to ensure the Syrian army ceased fire to allow the troops to evacuate," the ministry said.

33 Turkish soldiers were killed and 32 others injured on Thursday in an airstrike carried out by the Syrian regime forces in Idlib, northern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an urgent meeting with security officials after the reports of attacks on Turkish troops in Idlib.

After the meeting, Presidency Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun made a written statement regarding the Security Summit held at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of our President.

"During the Summit, it was emphasized that the Assad regime was responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, and it was decided to retaliate against the illegal regime, which pointed their guns at our soldiers serving to defend the Republic of Turkey’s rights and interests," he said.

"In this context, all known targets of the regime have been and will continue to be put under fire with our air and ground fire support elements. We hereby call the entire international community, particularly the parties of the Astana Process, to fulfil their responsibility to bring an end to the crimes against humanity committed by the regime. We cannot and will not sit back and watch what had happened in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past to recur in Idlib today. We will never let our gallant martyrs’ blood go unrevenged. Our ongoing activities on the ground in Syria will continue until the hands reaching to our flag are broken," he added.  

In a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Syrian regime airstrike, according to an alliance spokesman.

At the same time, The North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 29 NATO Allies, will meet on Friday 28 February, following a request by Turkey to hold consultations under article 4 of NATO’s founding Washington Treaty on the situation in Syria.

ILKHA