Turkey Registers No Violations Since New Ceasefire in Syria's Idlib Took Effect

Turkey has not registered ceasefire violations in the Idlib de-escalation zone after a new ceasefire took effect on Friday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

"From the moment the ceasefire agreement in Idlib entered into force, there have been no cases of violation thereof until now. We are closely monitoring the situation and in case of attacks on our observation posts will immediately respond", Akar was quoted as saying by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.

Akar added that Russian delegation will visit Ankara next week to discuss joint patrols in Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone.

"Within the framework of the agreement reached in Moscow, starting 15 March, we will begin joint patrolling in Idlib. We started discussing the conditions for creating a security corridor along the M4 highway. For that, the Russian delegation will come to Ankara next week", Akar was quoted as saying by the Turkish NTV broadcaster.

Putin-Erdogan Talks on Idlib

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a joint document on the de-escalation of tensions in Syria following a six-hour-long meeting in Moscow.

In September 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Sochi devoted specifically to the Idlib de-escalation zone. They agreed to create a demilitarised buffer zone in the province, which meant that all heavy weaponry operated by rebel groups was to be pulled back, and radical militants — including members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, previously known as the Nusra Front* — were to leave the zone.

*Jabhat al-Nusra (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or al-Qaeda in Syria) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia