ANKARA, Turkey, May 18 (NNN-ANADOLU) – The first meeting of the Turkish-Russian joint working group on Syria’s Idlib issue was held in Ankara, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said.
During the meeting, which was held on Thursday and Friday, the two countries discussed the latest development in the region, particularly in Idlib, and measures to be taken under the agreements reached in Astana and Sochi, the ministry said, in a statement.
The working group was established after Turkish and Russian presidents spoke by phone, late on Monday, in an effort to curb recent escalation in the rebels’ stronghold.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his concern over cease-fire violations in the past two weeks, by Syrian government forces in the Idlib deescalation zone.
The fresh offensives by the Syrian government’s army, targeting Idlib, harmed prospects of establishing the Syrian constitutional committee, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said.
Russia has long been pressuring Turkey to launch a military offensive against the opposition-held areas, saying that, Ankara failed to convince the opposition, to retreat out of a buffer zone that agreed on the Sochi deal last Sept.– NNN-ANADOLU
