Kremlin: Russian, Turkish military in contact on Idlib

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian and Turkish militaries are in close contact over the situation in Idlib, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

"Russian and Turkish military are in close contact. There has not been yet a high-level conversation [on the situation in Idlib], but there is no doubt that if the presidents deem it necessary, it can be agreed upon within a short time," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

The statement comes following a Syrian regime attack on Idlib earlier on Monday which martyred six Turkish soldiers. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian regime.

Located in northwestern Syria, Idlib province is the stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

It is currently home to some 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces across the war-weary country.

Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians since the agreement.

In a fresh move, Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib would start just after midnight on Jan. 12. However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their ground attacks.

Almost 1.5 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks since the beginning of 2019.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.