UN Chief Endorses Putin-Erdogan Agreement On Syria's Idlib - Spokesman

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the Russia-Turkey agreement to establish a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib province that would provide a reprieve for civilians there, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the Russia-Turkey agreement to establish a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib province that would provide a reprieve for civilians there, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the agreement reached on 17 September between President Erdogan of Turkey and President Putin of Russia to create a demilitarized buffer zone in Idlib region, which should avert a full-scale military operation and provide reprieve for millions of civilians," Dujarric said.

On Monday, Putin and Erdogan announced an agreement following a meeting in the Russian city of Sochi to create a de-militarized zone in Idlib, which puts on hold a threatened all-out assault by Syrian government forces on the province with a population of nearly 3 million.

The proposed zone would separate Syrian government troops and rebel fighters and radicals, with Turkish and Russian forces patrolling a border to ensure that the agreement is respected.

"The Secretary-General calls all the parties in Syria to cooperate in the implementation of the agreement and ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in all areas through the most direct routes."

Idlib remains the last rebel-held stronghold in Syria, where an estimated 10,000 extremists linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia) control parts of the region.