Turkey: Opposition leader hails Syrian cease-fire deal

ANKARA

Leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Friday welcomed a cease-fire deal brokered in Moscow following talks between Turkish and Russian presidents.

In a statement on Twitter, Devlet Bahceli said the Moscow Summit was a "positive" move as it was directly related to regional stability and peace.

Turkey and Russia are two guarantor countries responsible for facilitating and administrating the cease-fire regime in Syria, Bahceli said.

He added that all military activities in the region were suspended as of Thursday midnight, and both sides reached a consensus regarding the "temporary" cease-fire.

Bahceli said a “safe corridor” would be established with a depth of six kilometers in both northern and southern parts of M4 Highway and Turkish, Russian military elements would hold joint-patrols in designated areas of the highway starting from March 15.

He also called on Russia and Bashar al-Assad regime to remain strictly committed to the cease-fire agreement, adding any provocation would be harshly responded.

Referring to Bashar al-Assad as a "murderer", he went on to say that Turkey would stand against those disrupting regional peace and harming innocent people.

On Feb. 27, Turkey launched Operation Spring Shield in Idlib after at least 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred last week in an Assad regime airstrike in Idlib.

Under a 2018 deal with Russia, Turkish troops were in Idlib to protect civilians from attacks by the regime and its allies as regime aggression led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians who took shelter near Turkish borders.

In line with the operation, thousands of regime forces and many of its military hardware -- including battle tanks, war jets, helicopters, air-defense systems, and howitzers -- were neutralized according to Turkey's National Defense Ministry.

On Thursday, after an hours-long meeting, Turkey and Russia agreed on a cease-fire deal in Idlib city.