Turkey Urges Russia, Iran To Make Syria Observe Ceasefire Commitments In Idlib

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged on Thursday Russia and Iran, fellow guarantors of the truce in Syria, to compel the war-torn country to observe its ceasefire commitments in the Idlib province

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2019) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged on Thursday Russia and Iran, fellow guarantors of the truce in Syria, to compel the war-torn country to observe its ceasefire commitments in the Idlib province.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported a mortar attack on its observation post in Idlib from territory controlled by Syrian government forces. At least three Turkish servicemen were injured as a result of the attack.

"We see that Syria violates our agreements, reached in Astana and Sochi, and we are in active dialogue with Russia about it. We cannot say that the ceasefire is observed. There was an attack by the Syrian regime today. We believe that it was intentional. If this persists, we will do what should be done, let no one doubt this. Russia and Iran must observe their commitments to pressure the [Syrian] government to prevent such occurrences," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The Turkish minister added that the Syrian constitutional committee should be formed as soon as possible to speed up the political settlement process.

Le Drian, in turn, confirmed France's solidarity with Turkey on the matter.

At their meeting in Sochi in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in the Idlib province along the contact line between the armed opposition and government forces.

Over the past several weeks, terrorists have increased the number of attacks on Syria's northwestern provinces, particularly Idlib. Government forces have responded by enhancing their own attacks on terrorists in the province.