Turkey's fulfillment of its obligations under the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Syrian Idlib is being delayed, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said a briefing.
The diplomat noted that "despite the success achieved in the fight against international terrorism in the long-suffering Syrian land," the situation there is still far from stable. "The terrorist organizations Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (banned in Russia), as well as Hurras ad-Din - the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda (banned in Russia)-are entrenched in Idlib province. The activity of these structures is partially restrained by the presence of the Turkish military in the Idlib zone and joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the M-4 highway in the section from Saraqib to Jisr al-Shughur, " she said. "However, Ankara's fulfillment of its obligations under the [additional Protocol to] the Russian-Turkish Memorandum, which was signed on March 5 this year, is being delayed."
Zakharova noted that "the elimination of the remnants of ISIS (banned in Russia) gangs continues", which " regularly remind themselves on both banks of the Euphrates." "At the same time, the terrorists fully use the presence of enclaves with a radius of 55 km around the illegal US military base el Tanf, as well as in the zone of Washington's so-called oil interests on the lands of Arab tribes in the Euphrates. The legitimate authorities of Syria are still deprived of any access to these areas of the country and, accordingly, the ability to restore simple order there, " the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan agreed on a ceasefire and a number of other measures aimed at resolving the situation in Idlib at talks held in Moscow on March 5.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: MFA
Based on materials TASS