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Turkey establishes five new observation posts in Syria’s Idlib, reports say

Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reports that the amount of Turkish troops in the area has reached 10,500

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. The Turkish military has established five new observation posts in Syria’s Idlib near the mountain pass near Jisr al-Shughur, the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper informed on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the Aleppo-Latakia motorway goes through this mountain pass. The number of Turkish observation posts in the northern de-escalation zone, which includes the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, has reached 57.

The newspaper notes that Ankara has expanded its military presence in northwestern Syria on the outcomes of the March 5 agreements between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow. The amount of Turkish troops in the area has reached 10,500, the outlet informs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib province and other measures aimed to regulate the situation in the region during the talks in Moscow on March 5. All hostilities in Idlib must be stopped on the entire line of contact starting March 6, the declaration signed on the outcomes of the meeting informs. Starting March 15, Russia and Turkey began joint patrolling on the M4 motorway in Syria, along which they created a security corridor. Moscow and Ankara have confirmed their commitment to maintaining Syria’s sovereignty, agreeing to continue the decisive fight against terrorism.

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