Turkish delegation to go to Moscow for talks on Idlib

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish delegation will visit Russia next week to hold talks on clashes in Idlib, Syria, Turkey's foreign minister said on Saturday.

"The Turkish delegation on Monday will attend talks in Moscow [on Idlib, Syria]," Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after a meeting with his German counterpart Heiko Maas on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

For his part, Maas urged Russia to use its influence on the Assad regime to "stop attacks in Idlib."

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

But more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by regime and Russian forces since then, flouting both the 2018 cease-fire and a new one that started on Jan. 12.

More than 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year.

Turkey remains the country with the most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million migrants since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.