Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Sunday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin the situation in Idlib and violations of the declared ceasefire agreement in the city.
The meeting came on the sidelines of the International Berlin Conference on Libya and tackled developments in Syria, especially the ceasefire in Idlib, reached by a Turkish-Russian agreement, as well as joint efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Libya, Turkish diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The meeting was attended from the Turkish side by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Intelligence Chief Hakan Fidan, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Head of the Turkish Presidential Information Office Fakhruddin Alton and Turkish Envoy to Libya Emrullah Isler.
The Turkish side has stressed the necessity of working to maintain a ceasefire in accordance with the agreement with Russia and halting the regime's attacks on southern and eastern Idlib and the de-escalation zone in Aleppo.
It said this would stop the large wave of displacement of civilians and assist in reaching aid to them.
Before heading to Berlin, Erdogan said he would raise the Idlib issue during his talks with officials on the sidelines of the conference.
Bashar al-Assad regime’s massacres against civilians are still continuing despite the announced ceasefire, Erdogan noted.
He added that 19 civilians were killed in an attack by the regime forces on a market in Idlib last week, stressing that “it is time to stop the regime’s brutality.”
Dozens of Syrian government army soldiers, opposition factions and civilians were killed in Idlib on Wednesday and Thursday, during a government army offensive.
Displacement of residents in the Aleppo countryside, which is part of the de-escalation zone, continues towards the Turkish border due to the attacks carried out by Russia, the regime and the Iranian-backed militias.
Erdogan also accused Assad’s government of “lying” and claiming that civilians killed in Idlib were terrorists.
“The Syrian regime has proved that it is not committed to the ceasefire agreement in Idlib.”
“Is it possible that there are terrorist children aged three, four and five years, as well as mothers?” he noted.
Earlier this month, Turkey agreed with Russia that a ceasefire will be implemented in northwestern Syria’s Idlib region to stem the flow of civilians uprooted by the violence.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said attacks by air and land would halt at one minute past midnight on Jan. 12 under the ceasefire, which Ankara has been seeking for several weeks.
