Meeting of Turkish, Russian military delegations start in Ankara

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - A meeting between Turkish and Russian military delegations started on Tuesday in the Turkish capital Ankara, said Turkey's National Defense Ministry.

"Under the agreement reached on March 5 in Moscow, meeting of Turkish and Russian military delegations started at the National Defense Ministry," the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to a new cease-fire for Idlib effective as of midnight on March 5.

Under the agreement, all military activities are to end in Idlib with the establishment of a security corridor 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the north and south of the key M4 highway.

Joint Turkish-Russian patrols will also begin on March 15 along the M4 highway from the settlement of Trumba -- 2 km (1.2 miles) to the west of Saraqib -- to the settlement of Ain al-Havr, according to the deal.

Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield on Feb. 27 after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred last month in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib province, and after repeated violations of previous cease-fires.

Under a 2018 deal with Russia, Turkish troops were in Idlib to protect civilians from attacks by the regime and terrorist groups.

Idlib is currently home to four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

In recent months, nearly 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks by Assad regime and its allies.