MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed humanitarian aid to Syria with President Bashar Assad during a trip to Damascus on Monday. Shoigu’s plane was escorted through the Syrian airspace by Russian Sukhoi Su-35S fighter jets.
Their talks also covered efforts to ensure a ceasefire in the restive Idlib province and bring stability to Syria as a whole.
Tensions heightened in the region as, amid a Syrian government offensive to capture the last remaining pockets of territory in the region held by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organisation (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia), Syrian forces shelled a Turkish observation point on 3 February, killing seven personnel and one civilian contractor. This led to tit-for-tat strikes with Turkish forces claiming that hundreds of Syrian soldiers had been “neutralised.”
On 5 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a deal to commit to the de-escalation of violence in Idlib. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Astana format of Syria settlement talks and announced the introduction of a ceasefire in Idlib from midnight on 6 March and the resumption of joint Russian and Turkish military patrols.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
