He noted that Moscow continues contacts within the Astana format.
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“We are convinced that if the military, diplomats and representatives of the security services of the Astana residents can concentrate on the basic agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone, then these agreements can be transferred” to the ground “in the near future,” Nebenzya said.
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He also regretted the deaths of the Turkish and Syrian military.
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“We are convinced that compliance with the agreements, including on deconflicting, will help to avoid such tragedies in the future. Our military on the ground are ready to continue this work,” he said.
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The situation in Idlib escalated after the terrorists of the Khayyat Tahrir al-Sham * * launched a large-scale attack on the positions of the Syrian government forces on February 27. The Syrian army returned fire. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Turkish military, who should not have been there, was also shelled.
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As a result, 33 Turkish soldiers died, more than 30 people were injured. Immediately after receiving information about the injured Turkish military, Russia took measures to ensure that the Syrian troops cease fire, and safe evacuation of the dead and wounded Turkish military to the territory of their country was ensured. The Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that Russian aviation was not used in this area.
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan convened a security meeting after the attack. The NATO Council plans to hold consultations on the situation in Syria in response to the relevant request of Ankara. The US State Department told RIA Novosti that it supports Turkey as its NATO ally and is “considering options for the best way to support Turkey in this crisis.” The security of the Russian Embassy in Turkey, which had previously received threats, was strengthened on Thursday evening, and security is provided by police special forces.
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Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Turkey was unable to fulfill several key commitments to solve the problems around Idlib. In particular, she did not dissociate the armed opposition, which is ready for dialogue with the government in the framework of the political process, from terrorists.
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The Russian-Turkish memorandum of September 18, 2018, agreed upon by the meeting of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, said that the status quo for the presence of the Turkish military was maintained, but subject to the de-escalation of all terrorist radical groups from the Idlib zone until October 15, 2018 . It was also stipulated that “effective measures will be taken to ensure a stable cessation of hostilities” within the borders of this zone. Clause 7 of the memorandum called for joint Russian-Turkish patrols in the area.
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