After a crucial meeting that lasted several hours in Moscow with Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Thursday evening the entry into force at midnight of a ceasefire in the Syrian province of 'Idleb, while warning that Ankara would respond to any attack by the regime.
"The ceasefire will take effect from midnight this evening" local time, 11 pm French time, said the Turkish president during a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin, adding that he would work with his Russian counterpart to make it "sustainable".
Organized in an emergency, the summit between the two heads of state took place after a sudden escalation in Idleb, a region in northwestern Syria controlled by rebel groups supported by Ankara and jihadist organizations. Bashar al-Assad's regime, supported by the Russian air force, launched an offensive in December to resume it, causing a humanitarian catastrophe with nearly a million displaced people, fleeing the violence.
Turkish soldiers killed shortly before cease-fire
Ankara launched an offensive against the regime after the deaths of 34 Turkish soldiers in air strikes attributed by the Turkish government to Damascus. These clashes have strained relations between Ankara and Moscow which, despite their divergent interests in Syria, have strengthened their cooperation in recent years.
The Turkish president also warned that his country reserved "the right to respond with all its strength and everywhere to any attack by the regime" in Damascus. A few hours before the entry into force of the ceasefire, two Turkish soldiers were also killed in the shooting of Syrian soldiers, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense.
Erdogan said that Turkey and Russia will work together to allow humanitarian aid "to all who need it" and to ensure that people displaced by the violence can return "voluntarily".
Joint patrols from March 15
Speaking before his Turkish counterpart, Vladimir Putin said the two countries had "agreed on a text" which he said would "serve as a solid basis for ending the fighting in the de-escalation zone of 'Idleb'. The Russian and Turkish armies will organize joint patrols from March 15 on the M4 motorway, a strategic axis crossing the Idleb region, said the head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov, reading a joint statement.
According to the text of the agreement, the two countries plan to set up a "safety corridor" six kilometers deep on either side of the highway, a buffer zone of 12 kilometers wide. in total. The parameters of this zone will be defined by Ankara and Moscow within seven days, according to the declaration.
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Stressing that Turkey and Russia have "deep-rooted relations", President Erdogan said on Thursday that "his greatest desire" was to strengthen them further. He also added that he had invited Vladimir Putin to Turkey.