Kremlin says agreed with Turkey to defuse tensions in Idlib, Erdoğan asks Russia to step aside

Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Moscow and Ankara have agreed to defuse tensions on the ground in Syria’s last rebel-held province of Idlib province while continuing military action against what it calls terrorists, Reuters reported.

“Concrete steps to achieve lasting stability in the Idlib de-escalation zone were considered,” Reuters quoted the Russian ministry as saying.

“Both sides confirmed their goal to reduce tensions ‘on the ground’ while continuing the fight against terrorists.”

Russia and Turkey signed a deal in Sochi in September 2018, in which both countries agreed that Idlib would remain a war-free zone in Syria. But Russia accuses Turkey of reneging on the agreement by failing to contain and disarm Islamist militants that it labels as terrorists.

Syrian forces intensified their assault in January and advanced to areas where Turkey has observation posts built under the 2018 deal. Turkey has threatened to launch a full-scale operation in Idlib, unless Syrian troops withdraw from areas beyond Turkish observation posts by the end of this month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday he had asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for Russia to stand aside in Syria as Turkey weighs fighting the Syrian government forces after 36 Turkish soldiers were killed this week.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Russia, have made major advances in Idlib recently. Fifty-seven Turkish soldiers were killed this month by Syrian shelling in the region and almost one million people have flocked to areas near the Turkish border, fleeing the Syrian government advance on the region.

Turkey started transferring tanks and troops to areas in Idlib seized by Syrian forces since the end of December.

The attacks on Turkish troops in Idlib followed recapture of the strategic town of Saraqeb from the Syrian army by Syrian rebels backed by the Turkish military.