The leaders of Russia and Turkey, after almost six-hour negotiations in Moscow, agreed on a settlement document in the Syrian province of Idlib.
This is reported by the Russian News Agency RT.
Following the meeting, a document was adopted that prescribes a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone from March 6. Moscow and Ankara agreed to create a security corridor 6 km north and south of the M4 highway in Syria, and also agreed on joint patrolling of this territory. According to Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation and Turkey do not always evaluate what is happening in Syria equally, but the states manage to find solutions due to the high level of bilateral relations.
Russia and Turkey agreed on a joint document to resolve the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib. Negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on this subject were held in Moscow.
The leaders talked face to face for three hours, after which the delegations of the parties joined them. In total, the negotiations took more than six hours. As the Kremlin noted, the presidents thoroughly examined “the problems and possible ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, taking into account the aggravation of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone”.
“We do not always agree with our Turkish partners in our assessments of what is happening in Syria, but each time at critical moments, relying on the achieved high level of bilateral relations, we still managed to find common ground on the disputed issues that have arisen, and come to acceptable solutions. This happened this time as well”, – Putin said, summing up the negotiations.
The parties confirmed their interest in continuing to work together within the Astana format.
“Following the results of our negotiations, we agreed on a joint document, the provisions of which will be announced by the foreign ministers. It sets out the decisions that we, together with the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Erdogan, developed during today’s more than six-hour consultations”, – Putin said.
He expressed the hope that these agreements would serve as a good basis for ending the hostilities in the Idlib de-escalation zone, stopping the suffering of the civilian population and the growing humanitarian crisis.
The agreement signed by the parties included several key points. In particular, from midnight on March 6, the cessation of all hostilities along the existing contact line is announced, Russia and Turkey also create a security corridor 6 km wide to the north and south of the M4 highway in Syria. In addition, Russian and Turkish forces are starting joint patrols along the Turkish M4 highway.
Commenting on the outcome of the negotiations, Yuri Pochta, professor at the Department of Comparative Political Science of RUDN University, noted that, despite the warlike statements of the Turkish military, it turned out that Ankara was able to conduct a dialogue.
“I think this is a successful meeting. Good agreements were reached. It is felt that the negotiations were incredibly tense… In any case, both sides expressed a desire to de-escalate the situation and prevent a direct clash of our armed forces”, – the expert said in an interview.