Turkey has conducted a new patrol in the de-escalation zone in Idlib.
The Turkish army launched a new patrol from the surveillance point in al-Surman to that in Toukan hill and al-Eis, located in Aleppo’s southern countryside.
The patrol’s conduct coincided with the regime forces’ control over some towns located in Idlib’s southern countryside and fall within the demilitarized zone, which was approved by Ankara and Moscow in accordance with Sochi Agreement on September 17, 2018.
The Turkish army continues to reinforce its 12 surveillance points in Idlib and its environs.
It fortified these points along with that in Cher Maghar, which was repeatedly shelled by the regime forces, injuring two Turkish soldiers last month.
As a response, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the army wouldn’t withdraw from any surveillance point in Idlib or anywhere else despite the escalation and regime violation of the agreement reached in Sochi.
Meanwhile, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that contacts between the Turkish military and the Russians continued on the situation in Idlib, in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and achieve stability.
Last week, Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin held phone calls along with the two countries’ defense ministers and chiefs of staff.
Russian and Turkish military personnel are in constant contacts to prevent any possible escalations in Idlib, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The top Russian official went on to say that terrorists’ dangerous and provocative actions in Syria’s western provinces of Hama, Idlib, and Latakia, which threaten Syrian civilians, military personnel, and the Russia-run Hmeimim airbase cannot be tolerated.
Despite terrorists’ aggressive assaults, Russia remains committed to the agreement on stabilization the situation in Idlib, she stressed.
Notably, Moscow holds Ankara responsible for failing to meet its commitment to expel militant groups from Idlib, under the Sochi Agreement.
It also blames Ankara for the civilian casualties caused by the ongoing operations of the regime, which is backed by Russia.
