Friday, March 6 2020 16:35

ArmInfo. Putin-Erdogan meeting in Moscow recorded fundamental principles in their positions on Syria. I am convinced that neither Moscow nor Ankara will back down  from their existing positions.  Dean of YSU Faculty of Oriental  Studies, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan expressed a similar opinion to  ArmInfo.

"The fact is that Idlib is not only of geographic importance, linked  by infrastructure, communications and roads in the province. Idlib is  also of great symbolic importance, both for Russia and Turkey.  Accordingly, I believe that Putin and Erdogan will try to maintain  their positions in Idlib as much as possible, based on, from the  point of view of their own image as well," he stressed.

On March 5, negotiations between the Presidents of Russia and Turkey  took place in Moscow. According to their results, Vladimir Putin and  Recep Erdogan agreed on a truce after several weeks of bloody  battles, during which there was a threat of a direct clash between  the Russian and Turkish military.

The agreements between Putin and Erdogan stipulate that the warring  parties in Idlib will remain in their places, while Turkey and Russia  will begin joint patrolling of the M4 highway, which passes through  areas controlled by the Syrian opposition. It is unclear whether all  opposing groups will abide by the agreements.

According to Melkonyan, the recent events in Idlib are due to  Ankara's actual refusal to comply with obligations to Russia and  Iran, then a separate agreement with Russia. Moreover, the latter  concerned the demilitarization of the entire territory of Syria, the  antiterrorist struggle, etc.

The Turkologist determines the Russian-Turkish clash with exactly the  same behavioral line of Turkey.  According to his estimates, from the  available information it becomes clear that the Syrian and Russian  military bombed only the territories on which the terrorists were  located. In this light, it is completely incomprehensible what the  Turkish soldiers who died from the bombing did in general.

Based in the UK, the Syrian Center for Monitoring Human Rights  Violations, citing its sources in Syria, reports on compliance with  the ceasefire in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, which  the presidents of Russia and Turkey agreed on the day before in  Moscow. According to the center, from midnight on March 6, Syrian and  Russian aircraft ceased to strike at targets in Idlib. There is also  no shelling. Russian military correspondents, who are not far from  the contact line in Idlib, also report that there are no battles.

The situation around Idlib province escalated on February 27, when,  according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the militants attempted a  large-scale offensive. The Syrian military attacked them, as a result  of which, according to Ankara, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed. The  Russian defense department reported that the Turkish armed forces  that had come under fire from the Turkish Armed Forces were among the  terrorists.