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| - The sudden escalation between Russian and Turkish troops in the war-battered Syrian province of Idlib, has shattered a partnership the two countries forged after overcoming a major 2015 diplomatic crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose countries along with Iran are the key foreign players in the Syrian conflict, both have strained relations with the West. In November 2015, two Turkish military jets shoot down a Russian warplane over the Turkey-Syria border, resulting in the death of a pilot. Russia rejects Turkey's assertion that the plane, deployed in support of the Syrian regime's fight against rebels, had strayed into Turkish airspace. President Vladimir Putin slams a "stab in the back" and Moscow announces economic sanctions against Ankara. There is a thaw in June 2016 when Erdogan expresses regret about the incident and calls for friendlier ties. The Kremlin says he also apologised. Putin announces an end to some sanctions. The following month he is among the first international leaders to offer Erdogan support after a failed coup rocks his country. In August, the two men meet in Saint Petersburg, Putin saying afterwards their countries had "lived through a very complicated moment" but wanted to overcome their "difficulties". In January 2017, Russia, Turkey and Syrian regime-backer Iran launch talks in Astana, Kazakhstan (later renamed Nur-Sultan) between regime and rebels to end the Syrian conflict. They sideline the United States, with which all have strained ties. The talks result in agreement on "de-escalation" zones in Syria. In March 2017, Putin and Erdogan announce the "normalisation" of ties. "We consider Turkey our most important partner," Putin says. In late May, Putin orders the lifting of most remaining sanctions on Turkey. In September 2018, meeting in Sochi, Russia, Putin and Erdogan agree to create a "demilitarised zone" around Syria's Idlib region in a bid to avert a military assault on the last rebel and jihadist bastion in the country. Under the deal Turkey sets up 12 military observation posts in the area and Russia sends military police to control the zone. In July 2019, Ankara announces the start of deliveries of S-400 surface-to-air missile defence systems, its first major weapons purchase from Moscow. The United States believes the purchase is incompatible with the rules of the NATO military alliance, of which Turkey is also a member. In January 2020, the Russian and Turkish leaders inaugurate the new Turkstream pipeline that will deliver gas to Turkey and central Europe. Erdogan describes Turkstream as a "project of historic importance" for Turkish-Russian relations. On February 3, 2020, the worst clashes between Syrian and Turkish soldiers since Ankara first sent in troops in 2016 take place in the Idlib region, leaving around 20 dead. On February 27, the Turkish army suffers its worst losses in a single attack in Syria, with the death of more than 30 soldiers in regime strikes. Since December 2019, Assad's regime has been engaged in a deadly offensive to retake Idlib, and its troops' progression has sparked a crisis between Moscow and Ankara. acm-jmy/har
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