Tuesday, 16 June_Russia’s Defense Ministry says Russian and Turkish military forces have been attacked during a joint patrol on the strategic M4 highway in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, but there were no deaths or injuries among the troops.
“Today, during the joint patrol on the road connecting the town of Ariha to Urum al-Jawz village, militants carried out a terrorist attempt aimed at undermining security along the M4 motorway. As a result of the explosion, a Russian personnel carrier was slightly damaged,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the ministry’s Spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying on Tuesday.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on March 13 that Russian and Turkish military officials had agreed on the details of a new ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone following four days of talks in Ankara.
Akar said the first joint patrol by Turkey and Russia on the M4 highway in Idlib would take place on March 15, and that Turkey and Russia would set up joint coordination centers in the area.
The announcement followed a telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the previous day to discuss the implementation of the agreements the two leaders had reached in Moscow the previous week.
“Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed the importance of continued close joint efforts, first of all between the Russian and Turkish defense ministries, in order to ensure a stable ceasefire and further stabilization of the situation,” a Kremlin press release read.
Your Comment