In a surprise visit, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu arrived in Damascus on Monday and held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad on the implementation of the ceasefire in Idlib and military cooperation between the two countries to combat terrorism.
The Russian Defense Ministry said talks between the two men focused on “enforcing the cessation of hostilities in the Idlib de-escalation zone, the stabilization of the situation in other regions of Syria and various aspects of military-technical cooperation.”
Syria’s news agency, SANA, said the two sides discussed the Russian-Turkish agreements reached on March 5th and the constant breaches to it by terrorist organizations, focusing on the mechanisms of implementing these agreements which include keeping terrorists 6 km away from the Aleppo-Lattakia International Highway (M4) in order to reopen it.
“President Assad and Minister Shoygu also discussed the situation in the Syrian al-Jazeera area and the continuing theft of Syrian petroleum and resources by the United States,” SANA wrote.
The state-run news agency added that the two sides also tackled steps taken by the Syrian state to restore security and stability across the country, and the Russian leadership’s efforts on the regional and international levels to break the embargo and lift the sanctions and isolation imposed on the Syrian people.
This is the second time that a high-ranking Russian official has visited the Syrian capital.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Turkish and Russian forces have conducted the second joint patrol on the M4 highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria.
However, it noted that Russia and Turkey were forced to cut short their second joint patrol in the Idlib region due to security concerns.
The joint patrol came as part of the Moscow deal signed between Ankara and Moscow early this month to stop the fighting in Idib and give a respite to the three million Syrians living in the province. The first joint patrolling was conducted on March 15.
For its part, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria said in a statement issued Monday: “On the 23rd of March, in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, and according to the Russian-Turkish agreement, the second joint Russian-Turkish patrol was conducted on the M-4 Highway, which links the cities of Aleppo and Latakia.”
It added that the Turkish side pledged to take measures in the near future to liquidate extremist groups hindering the movement of joint patrols on the M-4 Highway in the safe corridor.
