A deal struck in Sochi last Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib showed that the two main roads linking Aleppo to Latakia and Hama, which are considered the “main artery of the North,” would be reopened to Damascus by the end of the year.
The deal stipulates that the M4 from Aleppo to Latakia will be opened to traffic and that the Syrian regime's transit on route M4 from Aleppo to Latakia and M5 from Aleppo to Hama will be restored before 2019.
A copy of the text, received by Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, includes 10 clauses and a timetable for establishing a 15-20 kilometer wide corridor in Idlib, which would be patrolled jointly by Russian and Turkish military units.
The deal stipulates the withdrawal of all heavy weapons including tanks and artillery, from the zone by October 10 the latest and to “get rid of terrorists by the 15th of the same month.”
Paragraph six of the document said: “All tanks, MLRS [Multiple Rocket Launch Systems], artillery and mortars belonging to warring sides will be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone by October 10.”
In return, Russia pledged to keep the status quo in Idlib and take all necessary measures to prevent any military operations and offensives in the area, in addition to safeguarding the free movement of local residents and goods, and the return of trade and economic-related activities.
The Russian-Turkish deal hopes to avert a military offensive against the northwestern province, where a humanitarian disaster would affect around 3 million Syrians.
Meanwhile, thousands of refugees from Idlib started to return to their homes within 48 hours of the announcement of the deal, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday.
"Around 7,000 people have returned to their towns and villages since the announcement of the deal on Monday, especially in the southeast of Idlib and the north of (neighboring) Hama," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory.
