by Our Foreign Desk

SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad alleged yesterday that Turkish military and logistical support was the key reason why insurgents were able to seize the north-western city of Idlib last month.

Idlib, just a short drive from the Turkish border, is only the second provincial capital to fall to Islamist militants in the four-year civil war.

The city was captured by an alliance of Islamist groups, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.

“Any war weakens any army, not matter how strong, no matter how modern,” Mr Assad said.

In the fall of Idlib, “the main factor was the huge support that came through Turkey — logistic support, military support and, of course, financial support that came through Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic quickly denied the allegation.

“Claims that armed forces coming from Turkey have participated in the Idlib offensive do not reflect the truth. This is out of the question.” he said.

“These are baseless allegations which have been orginated by the Syrian regime and should not be taken seriously.”

UN mediator Staffan de Mistura is planning to consult Syrian groups and interested states on a new round of peace talks.

Asked about the initiative, Mr Assad warned that the Syrian crisis had already been complicated by countries hostile to his government intervening in the conflict.

He said Mr Mistura should be aware that, “if he can’t convince these countries to stop supporting the terrorists and let the Syrians solve their problem, he will not succeed.”