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The Turkish armed forces are in Syria upon the call of the Syrian people, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, the Turkish media reported Sept. 17.

While the Russian army is in Syria by the call of the Syrian regime, we have been called by the people of Syria, the president of Turkey said.

"Turkey does not recognize the Syrian regime, and the people of Syria approve of the presence of the Turkish armed forces in Syria," Erdogan said.

He noted that Turkey's goal is to resolve the Syrian crisis as soon as possible, in particular the crisis in Idlib.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey stands for the political solution of the Syrian conflict and in particular, the crisis in Idlib.

The foreign minister noted that Turkey is currently working together with Russia and Iran to solve the crisis in Idlib.

“Bombarding Idlib can lead to a humanitarian crisis, therefore it is unacceptable,” Cavusoglu said.

On Sept. 7, the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia held a trilateral meeting and discussed the situation in Idlib.

Idlib is one of the de-escalation zones as part of the Astana format.

There are about 3 million civilians in Idlib.

On Aug. 24, 2016, units of the Turkish Armed Forces began the Operation Euphrates Shield against the "Islamic State" and with the support of the Syrian opposition liberated the border town of Jarablus in northern Syria, as well as al-Bab.

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