Military operations

Turkish and Russian military delegations will launch talks on March 10 in Ankara on the specific parameters of the functioning of the security corridor 6 kilometers deep to the north and 6 km deep to the south from the M4 highway in Idlib.

Turkey and Russia will start joint patrols in Idlib northwestern Syria on March 15 under the ceasefire for the embattled province reached this week, Turkey's defense minister said.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said there had been no violations of the ceasefire in Syria's Idlib, as part of the agreement with Russia.

"We will continue to be a deterrent force to prevent any violation to the ceasefire. None occurred since ceasefire entered into force," Akar said in Turkey's southern Hatay province, bordering Syria.

Extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on the situation in Idlib and migration pressure at the EU's external borders took place in Zagreb on March 6, Bulgaria's representative in the meeting was Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Judicial Reform and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, BNT reported.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on March 4.

According to a statement by the Communications Directorate, Erdoğan and Macron discussed the issues of Idlib and migrants.

The United States is willing to give NATO ally Turkey ammunition alongside humanitarian assistance in northwestern Syria where Ankara is in a deepening standoff with Russia, the U.S. special representative for the region said on March 3.

The Assad regime attacks killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded six others in Idlib, said the National Defense Ministry on March 4.

"We wish Allah's mercy on our martyrs, and condolences to their families. We also share our condolences with the entire Turkish nation, and wish a quick recovery for our wounded personnel," it said.

This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, Sputnik reports.
According to him, the situation in the Idlib security zone, where the Syrian army has pushed terrorists of the Hayat Tahrir Ash Sham group to a safe distance from Aleppo after attacking its positions, "represents another moment of truth."

Greece and EU countries should respect international law in treating refugees, the Turkish foreign minister said on March 3.

Turkey's Defense Ministry said on March 2 that a warplane of the Syrian regime's forces had been shot down in the course of a Turkish-led military offensive launched in northwest Syria to push back the forces of Bashar al-Assad.

The downed jet was described as an L-39 warplane in the ministry's statement.