Over 70,000 Syrian Refugees Returned to Syrian Province of Idlib - Erdogan

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2018) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he assessed the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreement on creation of a demilitarized zone in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib as successful, since over 70,000 Syrian refugees had already returned to their homes in Idlib.

On September 17, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib along the contact line of the armed opposition and the Syrian government forces by October 15, while the two countries' defense ministers signed a memorandum on stabilizing the situation in Idlib.

"We're not currently facing any problems in Idlib, and the most important thing is to continue this trend in future. We have agreed with the Russian Federation, and Putin's resolution, along with mine, has facilitated our work. A total of 70,000-80,000 people have already returned there [to Idlib].

In fact, this is what our aim resides in," Erdogan said in his address at the TRT World Forum held in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.

Erdogan recalled that Turkey had 12 observation points in Idlib, while Russia had 10, and Iran had six.

"But the 15-20 kilometer [9.32-12.42 miles]-long corridor [the demilitarized zone] is very important. Providing its security means providing the security of the whole Idlib. We could not have left its residents subject to bombings. Putin said that he would not let the regime forces [the Syrian government's army] enter there. He said that he wished that the radical groups' exit was secured. I answered: 'Let us do it together,'" Erdogan said.

Russia and Turkey, along with Iran, are the guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria, where the government forces have regained control over vast territories of the country that had been seized by terrorists, and Idlib remains the only stronghold of insurgency.