Swedish Prime Minister Welcomes Russian-Turkish Agreement On Idlib - Statement

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Tuesday praised the agreement on establishing a buffer zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, reached by the Russian and Turkish leaders.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Tuesday praised the agreement on establishing a buffer zone in the Syrian province of Idlib, reached by the Russian and Turkish leaders.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib by October 15.

"The immediate threat of a large-scale military offensive against Idlib seems to be over now. This hopefully means that an unprecedented humanitarian disaster has been averted. This comes after Russia and Turkey have agreed to establish a demilitarised zone. The detailed contents of the agreement remain unclear," the prime minister said, as quoted in the statement.

Lofven said that Sweden was planning to continue its work on the promotion of the ceasefire and protection of the civil society.

"What is now required is full respect for international law and the understanding that only a political solution can create sustainable peace," the Swedish prime minister said.

Russian military police and Turkish forces will be patrolling the demilitarized zone in Idlib along the contact line between the armed opposition and the government troops, according to the Russian leader. Putin said that under the deal, all heavy weaponry operated by rebel groups must be pulled out of the demilitarized zone by October 10.