ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2018) Ground and air operations in the Syrian province of Idlib should be stopped immediately, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Monday.
"Attacks from the air and land in Idlib should be stopped immediately, the ceasefire regime must be secured and extended," Akar told reporters in Ankara.
While the Syrian government has regained control over most of the country's territories following several years of armed conflicts with opposition and militant groups, including terrorist organizations, the Idlib de-escalation zone remains a stronghold of insurgency and is still being cleared of terrorists.
According to the Kremlin, the terrorism hotbed in Idlib destabilizes the situation in Syria and undermines the work toward the political settlement of the conflict. Moreover, Russian officials have repeatedly warned that terrorists were planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack in Idlib with an aim to provoke Western retaliation against the Syrian government.
On Friday, Russia, Turkey, and Iran held a trilateral meeting in Tehran on the situation in Idlib. The leaders of the three countries focused on the conflict in Syria and the situation in the country's Idlib de-escalation zone. As a result of the summit, the presidents adopted the Tehran Declaration, arguing whether it would be necessary to include an item on the ceasefire in Idlib. As a result, the leaders confined themselves to more vague and broad wording, calling on militants in the Idlib de-escalation zone for a truce, stressing that resolving the problem with terrorists in the area is the key to establishing peace in the country.
