Syrian Foreign Ministry Calls For Implementation Of March Deals To Ensure Peace In Idlib

Syrian Foreign Ministry Calls for Implementation of March Deals to Ensure Peace in Idlib

Damascus is seeking the implementation of this month's agreements between the governments of Russia, Turkey and Syria to ensure peace in Idlib province, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2020) Damascus is seeking the implementation of this month's agreements between the governments of Russia, Turkey and Syria to ensure peace in Idlib province, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told Sputnik.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Moscow on March 5 amid an escalation in violence in Syria's Idlib province. Both parties agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of joint military patrols, as had previously been agreed at a meeting in Sochi in September 2018.

"We call for the implementation of the Moscow agreement between His Excellency [Syrian] President [Bashar] Assad, President Putin, and the president of the Turkish regime," the deputy foreign minister said.

According to a statement by the Kremlin press service, Assad held a phone call with Putin after the conclusion of the meeting and praised the proposals. However, Mekdad raised doubts about the implementation of the agreements by the Turkish side.

"We have confidence in what Russia is doing. Russia wants to fight against terrorism but the Turkish regime is supporting terrorism," the deputy foreign minister said.

Since the talks between Putin and Erdogan, Russian and Turkish troops have conducted joint patrols along the M4 highway, which connects Aleppo and Latakia.

Tensions heightened in Idlib province as, amid a Syrian government offensive to capture the last remaining pockets of territory in the region held by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia), a Turkish observation point came under fire on February 3, with seven military personnel and one civilian contractor killed. This led to tit-for-tat strikes, with Ankara claiming that hundreds of Syrian soldiers had been "neutralized."

At that time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Turkey had failed to honor its commitments in Idlib, as agreed in a memorandum published after Putin and Erdogan met in Sochi two years ago.

In particular, Lavrov stated that Turkey had failed to distinguish between Syria's armed opposition, which is open for dialogue, and terrorist groups in the region. Ankara insisted that it implemented all of its commitments.