Turkish sources ruled out on Saturday that Ankara would launch a large military operation against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria’s Idlib province to fulfill the commitments it has made as part of deals with Russia to end the presence of militants in the area. “Such operation is very difficult in light of the infiltration of HTS militants in cities and villages and their deployment among civilians,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. They added that any military operation resulting in civilian casualties would expose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to criticism from the international community and to pressure from the Turkish opposition. On March 5, Russia and Turkey agreed in Moscow on a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor 6 km along the M4 road in Idlib, and launching joint patrols. “The Turkish army could launch quick raids to control the presence of HTS forces and to cut them off logistic supplies or launch precision strikes in cooperation with pro-Turkey armed opposition factions,” the sources said. They added that Ankara would not plan a large military operation despite the deployment of more than 10,000 soldiers and military equipment in observation posts in the so-called “de-escalation zones” in northwest Syria. The sources explained that even HTS militants do not wish to engage in battles with Turkey. “The clashes that erupted on Sunday in east Idlib were unprecedented. Any tension between the two sides cannot last long,” they said. Last week, Turkish forces opened fire on HTS militants, killing four protesters participating in Al-Karama sit-in. As a retaliation, the militant group targeted a Turkish armored vehicle with a missile in Al-Nayrab. Asked about the protests that broke out across opposition-held parts of northwest Syria last Friday against HTS militants after they opened a trade crossing into regime territory, the sources said Turkey does not object to the presence of such crossings with the regime. “However, Ankara rejects to see those crossings later controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants because this would contradict with Turkish agreements made with Russia,” they said.