The first Russian comment on the proposal to reduce the Turkish forces in Idlib

ARK News… Moscow has commented for the first time on the circulating news that a proposal has been submitted to Turkish officials to reduce the number of Turkish forces and observation points in Idlib.

The Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African Affairs and Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov said, on Monday, September 21, that "the matter is not only related to the presence or reduction of the military strength of foreign countries, but rather to the solution to the problem of terrorism," according to what was reported by "Interfax." “Russian.

Bogdanov added, "The main thing is to provide the basic principles that are being agreed upon at all levels and in all forms regarding the fact that Syria must be united, regionally integrated and sovereign."

He pointed out that the Turkish side repeatedly stressed during the two countries' talks that it “will fulfill the obligations arising from the agreements to ensure security in the Idlib region and its environs, through work aimed at eliminating the terrorist presence and restoring Syria’s full sovereignty.” But Bogdanov considered it “too early to talk about the judiciary.” On the terrorist threats in Idlib, where the situation remains alarming.
Last Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Turkey “is delaying the implementation of its obligations under the agreement to cessation of hostilities in Idlib province.”

On September 16, the Russian news agency "Sputnik" quoted an unnamed source, saying that during the meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry headquarters in Ankara, the Russian delegation presented a proposal to reduce the number of Turkish observation points in Idlib, “However, no agreement was reached in this regard. “.

The source said that “it was decided to reduce the number of Turkish forces present in Idlib and to withdraw heavy weapons from the area,” after the Turkish side refused to withdraw the Turkish observation points and insisted on keeping them.

For its part, "Asharq Al-Awsat" newspaper quoted a Russian source as saying that Moscow worked to persuade Ankara to reduce the military presence in Idlib and withdraw heavy weapons, during talks in Ankara.

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