Syria opposition uneasy after Turkish, Syrian defence

Syria’s political and armed opposition are urging their decade-long backer Turkey to reaffirm its support for their cause, after the highest-level talks in public between Ankara and the Damascus government since the Syrian war began in 2011.
Turkey has provided steadfast support and a home base for political opponents of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad while training and fighting alongside armed rebels against Syrian government troops.
But the Turkish and Syrian defence ministers met in Moscow on Dec. 28, with migration and Kurdish militants based on Syria’s border with Turkey on the agenda, according to a Turkish official.
That has prompted unease within Syria’s armed and political opposition.
The head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a hardline insurgent group, said in a recorded video address published on Monday that talks between Syria, Russia and Turkey were a “dangerous deviation”.