MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russian and Turkish servicemen conducted the second joint patrol mission along a section of the M4 highway linking the cities of Aleppo and Latakia in the Idlib de-escalation zone in Syria. The Turkish side has committed itself to neutralize radical extremist groups hampering joint patrol missions, Oleg Zhuravlev, chief of the Russia Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Monday.

Under the Russian-Turkish agreement, the second joint Russian-Turkish patrol mission was conducted along a section of the M4 highway linking the cities of Aleppo and Latakia in the Idlib de-escalation zone in Syria on March 23, 2020. The route of the joint patrol was shortened due to security considerations. The Turkish side has undertook to take swift steps to neutralize radical extremist groups that hamper the movement of the convoys of the joint patrol mission along the M4 highway in the safety corridor," he said.

A ceasefire was declared in the Idlib de-escalation zone from 00:01 on March 6, 2020 in line with the Russia-Turkish agreements. No shelling attack by Turkey-controlled illegal armed groups were reported during the day, Zhuravlev said.

The Russian military police continued patrol missions in the Aleppo and al-Hasakah governorates. Russia’s air force conducted an aerial patrolling from the al-Qamishli airfield.

The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.