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Russia-Turkey agreement on Idlib to yield tangible gains - Erdogan

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met for talks to agree on a ceasefire and a number of other measures for settling the situation in Syria’s Idlib province

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

ANKARA, March 7. /TASS/. The latest agreement on Syria’s Idlib signed by Russia and Turkey will yield tangible results, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish journalists on board the presidential plane on his way back home from Russia. Extracts of this interview were published by the daily Hurriyet on Friday.

"Our friends (Russia - TASS) keep an eye on the ceasefire, scheduled to take effect at 00:01 of March 6, 2020 (already in force - TASS). The truce has brought significant gains in a few areas. It protects our borders from the terrorists and from the regime [of Syria’s President Bashar Assad]. The truce provides the ground for stabilization and normalization in Idlib. It protects our military personnel there and also civilians," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Moscow for talks on Thursday to agree on a ceasefire and a number of other measures for settling the situation in Syria’s Idlib province. Under the achieved agreements, all hostilities were to be brought to an end along the whole disengagement line starting from March 6. On March 15, Russia and Turkey will start joint patrolling of the road M4. A security corridor is to be created along the road. Moscow and Ankara confirmed their commitment to preserving Syria’s sovereignty and agreed to push ahead with resolute struggle against terrorism.

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