A road map for Syria's Idlib was drawn following the discussions with French, German and Russian leaders, said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday.
In a phone conversation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart spoke on Friday about the latest developments in embattled Idlib, northwestern Syria.
Erdoğan told Vladimir Putin that the Assad regime "must be restrained and the humanitarian crisis must be ended in Idlib," northwestern Syria, where around a million civilians have fledattacks by the regime and its allies to take shelter near the Turkish border.
Erdoğan discussed the recent far-right terrorist attack in Germany’s Hanau and the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Libya with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.
If Turkey avoids struggling in Syria, Libya, the Mediterranean and generally in the region, those would return to the country with a heavier toll in the future, Erdoğan said.
Speaking in an opening ceremony in the western Turkish province of Izmir, he said Turkey's policies on Syria and Libya are "neither adventures nor arbitrary" choices.
Idlib, near Turkey's southern border, falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018.
The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the territory where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
The de-escalation zone is currently home to about 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.
Some 1 million Idlib refugees have moved towards the Turkish border in recent months, fleeing attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, and causing a desperate humanitarian situation.
Turkey has called for an immediate halt to the attacks on Idlib, and for the cease-fire to be followed, warning that if the attacks do not stop, Turkey will take action.
