The Turkish army reduces its forces in northern Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, that the Turkish army is “reducing its presence in northern Syria”.

Zakharova said in a press statement that “the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements regarding the stability of the situation in the de-escalation zone in Idlib continues,” noting that “the Turkish army is reducing its presence in the territories that have come under the control of the Syrian government”.

She continued: “Hostilities have ceased in most of Syria. 

At a time when the situation is still tense in the Idlib region.

Last March, the Turkish and Russian presidents agreed to stop all hostilities along the line of contact in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Turkey “will not remain in the Syrian territories forever,” as “it will end its presence there once a permanent solution to the crisis is found”.

Last October, the Turkish parliament extended permission to use the Turkish armed forces in Iraq and Syria for an additional year, that is, until October 2021.

It is reported that the Turkish forces began to withdraw from the al Rashideen neighborhood, south of Aleppo, on November 24, and prior to that, the Turkish army evacuated a third observation post located between the towns of Qubtan al Jabal and Sheikh Aqil in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Last October, the Turkish forces began evacuating their personnel and vehicles from the observation point in Morek, in the northern Hama countryside, where trucks, vehicles and a crane were seen carrying out their work, in accordance with the Russian-Turkish agreement.

The Turkish forces ’movements in terms of withdrawing from the observation points, in implementation of the “Moscow Agreement” between Russia and Turkey.