President Putin declares 'eradicating' terrorists in Syria

Smoke rises after an airstrike in Idlib province on Tuesday. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on August 27 that he and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan had outlined additional coordinated measures to root out “terrorists” in Syria’s Idlib region.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Turkish leader after the talks, Mr Putin said Moscow and Ankara were concerned about the escalating fighting in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, and the two countries were ready to take steps to ease tensions.

President Putin stated: "Together with the President of Türkiye, we have outlined further steps to neutralize the terrorist hideouts in Idlib and normalize the situation there as well as in the whole of Syria."

In addition, President Putin also said that he and the Turkish leader emphasized that Syria needs to remain a unified country.

Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. The province is also strategically important because it shares a border with Türkiye.

The most powerful rebel group operating in the province is HTS, an umbrella group of the Nusra Front, which is linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

According to the agreement reached between Russia and Türkiye in September 2018, the countryside of Idlib province and the adjacent countryside of Hama province as well as the western countryside of Aleppo are included in the de-escalation zones.

However, this agreement failed to be implemented due to HTS expanding its attacks in Idlib and Syrian army military positions.

Türkiye has set up 12 observation posts around Idlib to maintain a ceasefire between the Syrian government and rebels there.

While Russia supports the government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Türkiye supports rebel forces occupying Idlib./.