Erdogan, Putin agree to de-militarised zone in Syria’s Idlib

The leaders of Russia and Turkey have agreed to establish a de-militarised zone in Syria’s Idlib province, in a move that ostensibly puts on hold a threatened all-out assault by government forces on Syria’s last rebel bastion.

The announcement was made on Monday during a press conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking alongside Erdogan, Putin said the 15-20km-wide zone would be established by October 15.

This would entail a “withdrawal of all radical fighters” from Idlib, including the Al-Nusra Front, Putin said.

He added that heavy weapons would be withdrawn from all opposition forces by October 10 – an approach supported by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

By the end of 2018, transportation routes between the key port of Latakia and Aleppo, as well as Latakia, and the major city of Hama, must also be restored, Putin said.

Erdogan said both his country and Russia would carry out coordinated patrols in the de-militarised zone, and reiterated that the biggest threat to Turkey was the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who control swathes of territory in northeast Syria.

Following the press conference, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the agreement between Putin and Erdogan meant that no military action would be taken against Idlib, according to Russian news agencies.

Describing the agreement as a “serious result”, Putin said “Russia and Turkey have confirmed their determination to counter terrorism in Syria in all its forms.”  

The joint action plan comes hours after Putin and Erdogan conducted bilateral talks behind closed doors.

“We decided on the establishment of a region that is cleaned of

weapons between the areas which are under the control of the

opposition and the regime,” Erdogan said after the talks. 

“In return we will ensure that radical groups, which we will

designate together with Russia, won’t be active in the relevant

area,” he said.

“We will prevent a humanitarian tragedy which could happen as a result of military action,” Erdogan added. 

Prior to the meeting, Erdogan said cooperation between the two countries would bring “hope to the region”.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Russia’s capital, Moscow, said the agreement between the two countries essentially ruled out an imminent offensive on Idlib.

“Essentially this boils down to a fairly significant diplomatic success for Erdogan as he has been voicing his strong opposition for some time now to the assault on Idlib,” Challands said. 

“We are now looking at a very different scenario that is going to be playing out by October 15.”

Rebel bastion

The Syrian government had recently announced plans to launch a major military offensive on Idlib province, long controlled by various armed opposition groups and their last bastion in the war-torn country.

Since the beginning of September, dozens of people have been killed and injured in air raids and attacks by the Syrian government and Russian fighter jets, according to activists on the ground.

Russia and Iran, who back the Syrian government, want to eliminate what they call “terrorist groups” in the province, which neighbours Turkey.

Ankara wants a stable ceasefire in the region to disarm these groups while keeping the peace in Idlib.

The United Nations has warned  that a full offensive on Idlib would lead to the “worst humanitarian catastrophe in the 21st century”.

On Friday, thousands took to the streets across Idlib, home to an estimated three million people, to protest against a potential full-fledged offensive by government forces and their allies.