Turkey’s defense minister sounded a more dovish note on his country’s ongoing military confrontation with Syria over Idlib today, telling fellow NATO ministers in Brussels that Ankara’s aim in sending some 5,000 additional troops to the rebel-held province was “to secure a lasting cease-fire.” Hulusi Akar’s comments contrasted with days of hawkish rhetoric from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who as recently as yesterday threatened all-out war against the Syrian army unless it withdrew from recently captured terrain in Idlib where Turkish and Syrian forces have bloodily clashed over the past week, leaving 10 Turkish observation posts under siege. Erdogan set a March 1 deadline.

At least 14 Turkish soldiers and an unknown number of Syrian forces have died since the start of February, the first time the sides have come to blows since the start of Syria’s civil conflict in 2011. The effects of the escalation are being felt on Turkey’s wobbly currency, with the lira wilting further against the dollar for a third consecutive day.

In an apparent olive branch to Moscow, Akar warned that those who do not abide by the cease-fire, “radicals included,” will be “dealt with by force” and that “all measures” would be considered against them. Akar was referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the radical jihadi group that Syrian forces backed by Russian airpower are battling to expel from Idlib.

Turkey’s efforts to stymie the militants' advance, including on the critical M5 motorway connecting Aleppo and Damascus, are testing deepening ties with Moscow.