Putin, Erdogan agree to push for creation of de-escalation zone in Syria's key northern province of Idlib

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to push for the creation of a de-escalation zone in Syria's key northern province of Idlib to help end the civil war. 

Mr Erdogan said after talks in Ankara yesterday that yhey agreed to pursue more intensely the implementation of a de-escalation zone in Idlib, which is currently under terrorist control, in comments



echoed by Putin.

Moscow and Ankara have proposed at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana the creation of four de-escalation zones in Syria to be patrolled by military observers, but the one in Idlib is by far the most significant.Ankara and Moscow have been working closely since a 2016 reconciliation ended a crisis caused by the shooting down of a Russian war plane over Syria.