Mar 13, 2020

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar finally announced March 13 that after four days of talks in the Turkish capital, the Russian and Turkish militaries have agreed on the details of a new cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone.

Akar said the first joint patrol by Turkey and Russia on the M4 highway in Idlib would be carried out on March 15 and that Turkey and Russia will establish joint coordination centers in the region. The announcement followed a March 12 telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the implementation of the agreements the two leaders 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 cease-fire and further stabilization of the situation,” read a Kremlin press release. It went on, “It was agreed to maintain a regular dialogue at various levels, including personal contacts.”

Why it matters: Today’s agreement is a further sign that both sides are keen to move beyond the crisis that erupted in Idlib last month when at least 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in a single attack that both sides chose to blame on the Syrian regime. Tensions between Ankara and Moscow spiked, prompting widespread conjecture of a major break.

The language coming out of both capitals has been far more measured in recent weeks.