15 Aug 2020; MEMO: Russia has suspended its participation in patrols with Turkey along the strategic M4 highway in Syria’s Idlib province.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said yesterday: “Joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the Idlib highway have been stopped due to continued provocations of militants in the region.”
Zakharova stated that factions in Idlib were attacking Hmeimim’s base in the Latakia countryside with drones, adding that these attacks on Hmeimim “are extremely troubling”.
The Russian spokeswoman stressed that “achieving permanent stability in the de-escalation zone in Idlib is not possible unless terrorists are neutralised.”
The last joint patrol was conducted a few days ago along the highway, covered the area from Saraqib, east of Idlib, to Ain Al-Hour, north of Latakia.
Russia has been conducting joint patrols with Turkey along the M4 highway in Syria as part of the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed earlier this year.
They have, however, come under attack a number of times, including in mid-July when three Russian and a number of Turkish soldiers were injured after a roadside bomb hit their convoy.
