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Dozens of drones shot down near Russian military base in Syria in past two months — Putin

"Russia reserves the right to support the Syrian government if terrorists carry out provocations from the Idlib zone," Putin said

ISTANBUL, October 28. /TASS/. Terrorists continue attacks in Idlib, with dozens of drones shot down near the Russian military base in the country in the past two months or so, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters after a four-party summit on Syria held in Istanbul on Saturday.

"Russia reserves the right to support the Syrian government if terrorists carry out provocations from the Idlib zone," Putin said. "Quite recently - I have informed my counterparts - artillery strikes were delivered from the Idlib zone in the direction of Aleppo. In the recent six weeks to two months, our air defense has shot down 50 aerial vehicles near our base in Hmeymim."

"Everything we do with our Turkish partners and friends in this direction is compliant with the tasks we had set for ourselves," he said. "We want to ensure demilitarization of the Idlib zone at a distance of 15-20 kilometers so that it was free from heavy weapons and all sorts of radical groups."

"The work is in full swing. Turkish partners meet their commitments, although not everything is done in full," he said.

"We see that the work is difficult and we are set to keep cooperating with Turkey in this area," the Russian leader assured.

On Saturday, Istanbul hosted a four-party summit on Syria that was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.