Russia and Turkey agreed a cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib province, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Moscow.
“I express hope that these agreements will serve as a good basis for a cessation of military activity in the Idlib de-escalation zone [and] stop the suffering of the peaceful population and the growing humanitarian crisis,” Putin said, according to Reuters.
Erdoğan said the cease-fire would take effect from midnight. He also said Turkey reserved the right to respond to attacks by the Syrian regime, which is backed by Moscow.
Ankara supports forces opposed to the government in Damascus and has in recent weeks sent thousands of troops to Idlib, a rebel stronghold, to halt a regime advance that has displaced nearly a million people since December.
Turkey and Russia also agreed to establish a “security corridor” along Idlib’s M4 highway and start joint patrols along the road from March 15, according to the agreement.
There have been previous cease-fire deals in Idlib, all of which collapsed.