Syria has registered several cases of ceasefire violations by Turkey in Idlib after Russian-Turkish agreements, the Adviser to the President of Syria Bashar Assad Busein Shaaban told.
Negotiations between Russian and Turkish leaders in connection with aggravation of the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib took place in Moscow on 5 March. Following the meeting, a joint document was adopted. The sides reaffirmed their commitment to the “Astana format” and announced the introduction of a ceasefire from midnight on Friday. The sides agreed to jointly patrol the important M4 highway, which is now under the control of militants.
“After the (Russian-Turkish) summit, there were already many violations of the ceasefire on the Turkish side. And even after the negotiations between President (Russian Federation Vladimir) Putin and (Turkish leader Tayyip – editor’s note) Erdogan, there were many violations”, – Shaaban said.
At the same time, the advisor stressed that Syria remains committed to the ceasefire regime.
“We are ready to respect the ceasefire, and we will all honour the commitments we have made. The ceasefire is in line with our goals of defeating terrorism and achieving peace”, – Shaaban said.
In addition, according to the adviser, Damascus expects from NATO countries and the European Union to condemn Turkey’s actions in Syria, which “are contrary to all international laws. Shaaban stressed that Syria is an independent country, but also suffers from “aggression” and “invasion” by Turkey.
“The least we expect from NATO members, from European countries, from every country in the world is condemnation of illegal actions (Turkey)”,- Shaaban said.
Russia and Turkey are active participants in the Syrian settlement. Since 2015, at the request of Damascus, Russia has been helping the official authorities in the fight against terrorists. Turkey, bordering Syria, has conducted a number of operations against militants and Kurdish formations, and it has several observation points in Syrian Idlib.