Russian-Turkish Agreement on a Cease-Fire in Idlib

The director of the Hmeimim Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Yuri Burenkov, said in a statement issued on Thursday evening: "According to the agreements reached with the Turkish side, as of 14:00 January 9, 2020, a ceasefire system in the Idlib area has entered into force to reduce the escalation."

"The Russian Reconciliation Center calls on the leaders of the illegal armed formations to abandon provocations with weapons and pursue the path of a peaceful settlement of the conditions in their areas of control," Borenkov added.

The announcement of the ceasefire system in the Idlib region comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, affirmed in a joint statement last Wednesday the necessity of implementing agreements between the two parties on Syria and their efforts to combat terrorism and counter separatists and preserve the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.