Türkiye closely following developments in Syria, taking necessary measures: President Erdogan

Türkiye is closely following recent developments in Syria and taking necessary measures amid a re-escalation of the fighting between the Bashar al-Assad regime and armed opposition groups in the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

"We are closely following the developments that erupted suddenly in our neighbor Syria over the past few days, "Erdogan said at a joint news conference with his Montenegrin counterpart Jakov Milatovic in Türkiye's capital Ankara.

Ankara is closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Syria in line with its national security priorities and is taking all necessary measures to prevent different actions, said Erdogan.

"It is our greatest wish that the territorial integrity of Syria is preserved, and the instability ends with a consensus in line with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," said the Turkish president.

He underlined that Ankara remains ready to "do whatever we must to extinguish the fire" in its region.

Clashes broke out on Nov. 27 between Assad regime forces and anti-regime armed groups in the western countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, marking a re-escalation of the fighting after a period of relative calm in the civil war that has gripped Syria since it erupted in 2011.