from Middle East Eye
Russia said on Monday there will be no new military operation against
rebels in Idlib by Syrian government forces and their allies after
President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
The two leaders, who back opposing sides in Syria’s
seven-year war, came together in an ad hoc meeting in the Russian resort
city of Sochi as tensions grew over Idlib, the last major opposition
bastion in Syria.
The Syrian government, backed by Russian air
power, appeared recently to be poised to stage an assault on Idlib
province, which is also home to thousands of hardline militants.
Putin
said Moscow and Ankara agreed to create a 15-20 km demilitarised zone
between rebels and Syrian government forces by 15 October.
Russian
and Turkish forces will patrol the buffer zone. "Radically-minded"
groups, including former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir a-Sham (HTS),
will withdraw from the zone, and heavy weapons held by Syrian rebels in
Idlib city would be handed over by 20 October, according to the
agreement.
This approach, Putin said, is supported by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad...
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