Turkish, Russian FMs discuss Idlib in phone call

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a phone call Monday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

The two ministers evaluated the latest situation in Syria's Idlib, including the regime attack targeting Turkish soldiers in Idlib.

The phone call followed a Syrian regime attack on Idlib earlier Monday which killed five Turkish soldiers and one civilian personnel member. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian regime.

Located in northwestern Syria, the Idlib province has been the stronghold of the opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

It is currently home to some 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces across the war-weary country.

Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians since the agreement.

In a fresh move, Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib would start just after midnight on Jan. 12. However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their ground attacks.

Almost 1.5 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border to flee intense attacks since the beginning of 2019.