MOSCOW – Russia, and Turkey have decided to set up demilitarised zone between militants and government troops in Syria’s Idlib.
The demilitarised zone with a depth of 15-20 kilometers will be created along the contact line of the armed opposition and the government forces said Russian president on Monday after hours-long talks with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mobile patrol groups consisting of Turkish army units and Russian military police units will control the situation in the demilitarised zone, Putin said, according to a Kremlin press release.
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Russia and Turkey reaffirmed their determination to fight terrorism in Syria in all its forms and will continue to work on the formation of a constitutional committee consisting of representatives of the Syrian leadership, opposition forces, and the civil society, said Putin.
Before the end of the year, roads between Aleppo and Hama, and Aleppo and Latakia must be reopened for transit traffic, he added.
Territories occupied by the Syrian opposition must be demilitarised and the opposition will remain there but Turkey and Russia will make every effort to eliminate all radical groups from these territories, said Turkish President Erdogan.
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There will be no military operation against the armed opposition in Idlib and the Russian military will soon coordinate with the Syrian forces, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said following the Putin-Erdogan meeting.
The Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran were preparing an offensive against the rebels’ last major stronghold in Idlib, although Turkey and the United States have repeatedly warned against any operation.
Ankara and Washington reject the possible offensive in Idlib, citing that it could cause great civilian casualties and even a humanitarian disaster.
However, Erdogan’s call for a cease-fire in Idlib, which borders Turkey, was accepted neither by Russia nor Iran at the tripartite summit in Tehran on September 7.
