Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly praised the agreement to establish a demilitarized zone in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib between Turkey and dictator Bashar al-Assad’s ally Russia as “a step toward peace” on Wednesday.
“The defense ministers of both sides signed a document. It is to stop bloodshed in Idlib. There are 12 articles in the signed agreement. This is a step toward peace beyond our border,” Erdogan said in Ankara, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
The Turkey-Russia deal came Monday in the wake of a meeting in the Russian coastal city of Sochi between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Syria “welcomed” the demilitarized zone agreement in Idlib, considered the last opposition stronghold in the war-ravaged nation, the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Tuesday.
SANA noted:
Syria has welcomed the agreement on [Idlib] Province announced yesterday in the Russian city of Sochi, stressing that it was an outcome of intensive consultations between it and the Russian Federation with complete coordination between the two countries…The Syrian Arab Republic has always welcomed any initiative that stops bloodshed and contributes to reestablishing security and stability to each inch that was struck by terrorism as it stresses determination to go ahead in its war against terrorism until all the Syrian territories are liberated whether by military operations or by local reconciliations.
On Monday, Erdogan and Putin signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to establish a nine- to 15-mile wide demilitarized zone by October 15 to push out jihadist groups, namely the Syrian al-Qaeda branch known as Jabhat al-Nusra, withdraw heavy weapons, and implement a ceasefire between opposition forces and pro-Assad troops.
Turkish and Russian troops are expected to conduct joint patrols along the zone’s perimeter under the deal. Ankara is reportedly considering deploying more forces to Idlib.
On Tuesday, U.S. Army Col. Sean Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition officially known as the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), told Pentagon reporters that the alliance had nothing to do with the agreement.
“l tell you what, if this holds up and it can save lives and avoid the humanitarian disaster that it could have been, then we’re definitely supporting that But that’s definitely a decision between Russia and Turkey, and the coalition was not involved with that,” Col. Ryan declared.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has discussed the Turkey-Russia agreement with U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo over the phone, Hurriyet Daily News cited an unnamed diplomatic source as saying on Tuesday.
Hurriyet reported:
Çavuşoğlu and Pompeo discussed an agreement between Turkey and Russia to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Çavuşoğlu also held phone conversations with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, German counterpart Heiko Maas and EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
Following a meeting in the Russian city of Sochi between Turkish President Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two leaders agreed Monday to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria’s last opposition stronghold that is also home to al-Qaeda’s branch in the country.
The United Nations, which also welcomed the demilitarized zone agreement, has warned that an assault on Idlib could trigger the “worst humanitarian catastrophe” of the 21st century.
“We hope that this agreement is expeditiously implemented,” Staffan de Mistura, the U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, reportedly told the international body’s security council. “I thank presidents [Vladimir] Putin and [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan for their personal engagement.”
De Mistura urged all parties in the Syrian war “to refrain from military actions” that could derail the demilitarized zone pact.
He noted, “What do we think the 3 million civilians, including those million children kettled there, make of yesterday’s agreement? Well, they have a simple question. Is this merely a stay of execution? Or is it the beginning of a reprieve, the first tiny glint of light at the very end of the darkest tunnel?”
Echoing the U.S.-led coalition spokesman, some experts like Lina Khatib of London’s Chatham House think tank believe the Turkey-Russia agreement will “delay, but not prevent, a battle for Syria’s Idlib province,” the Washington Post noted Tuesday.
Idlib sits near Syria’s border with Turkey. It is home to 3 million Syrians and the primary stronghold of al-Qaeda’s branch in the country, considered the group’s strongest.
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