OREANDA-NEWS Russia and Turkey agreed on the borders of the demilitarized zone in the Syrian province of Idlib. This was stated by Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

According to him, Moscow and Ankara agreed on this on Thursday, September 20. Lavrov stressed that this agreement does not pose a threat to the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Russian foreign Minister noted that the purpose of such agreement is "the eradication of the terrorist threat". Lavrov stressed that this step is intermediate, because it creates "only a demilitarized zone", but it must be formed to prevent attacks from the de-escalation zone in Idlib. He explained that the objectives of these attacks were the positions of government troops and Russian military base Hamim.

Lavrov stressed that the militants of the banned organization in Russia "Jabhat al-Nusra" are obliged to leave the demilitarized zone in Idlib by mid-October. In addition, all heavy weapons should be withdrawn from the area. The head of the Ministry Sergei Shoigu said that in the near future with the Syrian authorities will be agreed steps to de-escalate the conflict in Idlib, which was agreed between the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi.

Idlib is the only large region of Syria that remains in the hands of illegal armed groups. In 2017, the Northern de-escalation zone was created there, where militants and their families could move, who refused to reconcile with the authorities and voluntarily lay down their arms.

The heads of state met on September 17. During the talks, they agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib. It is planned that its depth will be from 15 to 20 km. Putin said that it should be installed by October 15. Erdogan said that it will remain representatives of the opposition. Turkish patrols and the Russian military police will control the zone.

The Minister added that Moscow will insist on stopping Washington's attempts to create autonomy in Syria.