The Foreign Minister of Germany, Heiko Maas, welcomed the agreements of the Russian Federation and Turkey on Idlib, but called them belated.
On Thursday in Moscow, negotiations were held between the leaders of Russia and Turkey in connection with the aggravation of the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. Following the meeting, a joint document was adopted. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to the “Astana format” and announced the introduction of a ceasefire regime from midnight on Friday. In addition, the parties agreed to jointly patrol the important M4 highway, which is now under the control of militants.
“First of all, we need to welcome what was achieved between Russia and Turkey. But it was also late. At the last two meetings of the UN Security Council, we called on both sides to armistice so that the suffering caused to the civilian population by these battles would be stopped, but also so that conditions are created for the further provision of humanitarian assistance to people”, – Maas said in an interview with Deutschlandrundfunk.