Russia, Turkey agree on demilitarised zone for Syria's Idlib region

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan say they have agreed to create a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria's Idlib province.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to establish a demilitarised zone in Syria's Idlib province.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to establish a demilitarised zone in Syria's Idlib province. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

ANKARA/AMMAN • Turkey will send more troops into Syria's Idlib province after striking a deal with Russia that has averted a government offensive and delighted rebels who say it keeps the area out of President Bashar al-Assad's hands.

The deal unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday will create a new demilitarised zone from which "radical" rebels must withdraw by the middle of next month.

Damascus also welcomed the agreement, but vowed to continue its efforts to recover "every inch" of Syria. Iran, Mr Assad's other main ally, said "responsible diplomacy" had averted a war in Idlib "with a firm commitment to fight extremist terror".

The agreement has put a halt to a threatened Syrian government offensive. The United Nations had warned such an attack would create a humanitarian catastrophe in the Idlib region, home to about three million people. The Idlib region and adjoining territory north of Aleppo represent the opposition's last big foothold in Syria. Mr Assad has recovered most of the areas once held by rebels, with military support from Iran and Russia.

But his plans to recover the north-west have been complicated by Turkey's role on the ground. It has soldiers at 12 locations in Idlib and supplies weapons to some of the rebels.

Mr Erdogan had feared another exodus of refugees to join the 3.5 million already in Turkey, and warned against any attack.

In striking the deal, Russia appears - at least for now - to have put its ties with Turkey ahead of advancing the goal of bringing all of Syria back under Mr Assad's rule.

Analysts cautioned that implementation of the deal faced big challenges, notably how to separate extremist militants from other rebels - a goal Ankara has been struggling to achieve for some time.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the "moderate opposition" would keep its weapons and the "region will be cleared of radicals". Turkey would "make additional troop deployments" and its 12 observation posts would remain.

The deal was "very important for the political resolution in Syria". "If this (Idlib) had been lost too, there would be no opposition anymore," he said.

Mr Mustafa Sejari, a Free Syria Army official, told Reuters the deal "buries Assad's dreams of imposing his full control over Syria".

The spokesman for the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission expressed hope that a government offensive was now off the table for good. Mr Yahya al-Aridi told Reuters by telephone it was a "victory for the will for life over the will for death".

The Syrian government, in a statement published by state media, said it welcomed any agreement that spared bloodshed. It also said the deal had a specific timeframe which it did not detail.

Moscow said the deal "confirmed the ability of both Moscow and Ankara to compromise... in the interests of the ultimate goal of a Syrian settlement by political and diplomatic means".

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 19, 2018, with the headline Russia, Turkey agree on demilitarised zone for Syria's Idlib region. Subscribe