Reuters: Turkey learned about offensive plans of Syria opposition militias 6 months ago

After 13 years of civil war, Syria’s opposition militias sensed an opportunity to loosen President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power when, about six months ago, they communicated to Turkey plans for a major offensive and felt they had received its tacit approval, two sources with knowledge of the planning said, Reuters reports.

There was no way the rebels could go ahead without first notifying Turkey, which has been a main backer of the Syrian opposition from the war’s earliest days, said the sources, a diplomat in the region and a member of the Syrian opposition.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had stated that Turkey has no territorial ambitions towards Syria and is in favor of a quick resolution in the neighboring country.