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Damascus, legitimate partners responsible for fighting terrorists in Syria — diplomat

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman replied to a question whether the agreement that Turkey will eradicate terrorists in Idlib "on its own" was relevant

MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. It is the responsibility of Damascus and its legitimate partners to fight against terrorists in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.

"I would like to point out without referring to yesterday’s talks [between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey] that as far as efforts to eliminate militants and terrorists go, if they are designated as such, they must be eradicated, first and foremost, by the Syrian Armed Forces and the forces of countries that legally cooperate with the Syrian authorities," the diplomat said, when asked if "the agreement that Turkey will eliminate terrorists in Idlib on its own" was still relevant following the Putin-Erdogan talks.

The Russian and Turkish presidents agreed at their Moscow talks on Thursday that a ceasefire would be declared in Idlib and a number of other measures would be taken to improve the situation in the Syrian province. In addition, Russian and Turkish troops will launch joint patrols along the M4 highway, where a security corridor will be created. Besides, Moscow and Ankara reaffirmed their commitment to preserving Syria’s sovereignty and agreed to continue a determined fight against terrorism.