Turkish, Russian diplomats discuss Syria situation

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The deputy foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia discussed the situation in Syria in a phone conversation on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement, the ministry said Turkey's Sedat Onal and his Russian counterpart Sergey Vershinin thoroughly examined all aspects of the peace process, including the implementation of Moscow and Ankara’s agreements on Syria’s northwestern Idlib province and the promotion of the political process under UN auspices.

"A range of issues related to the Syrian settlement, including the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements on stabilization in Idlib, as well as the tasks of promoting the political process led and implemented by the Syrians themselves with the assistance of the UN in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2254, were discussed in detail," read the statement.

On March 5, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed on a new cease-fire in Idlib.

Under the deal, all military activities were to end in Idlib with the establishment of a security corridor six kilometers (3.7 miles) to the north and south of the key M4 highway.

Joint Turkish-Russian patrols agreed in the deal also began on March 15 along the highway from the settlement of Trumba -- two kilometers (1.2 miles) to the west of Saraqib -- to the settlement of Ain al-Havr.