ANKARA, March 4. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expects that a ceasefire will be declared in the Syrian province of Idlib following his Thursday meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as Erdogan himself told reporters on Wednesday.
"As for the talks, we expect a ceasefire to be declared," Erdogan said, as cited by the NTV channel.
In addition, the Turkish president commented on a statement by US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey who had said that Washington was willing to provide ammunition to Ankara. "I have sent a request to [US President Donald] Trump," Erdogan noted.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was hopeful earlier on Wednesday that talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, scheduled for March 5, would make it possible to figure out the causes of the Idlib crisis and agree on measures to end it.
The situation in Idlib escalated on February 27, when militants attempted to carry out a large-scale offensive. The Syrian Army conducted a strike on them, which, according to Ankara, killed over 30 Turkish troops. After that, the Turkish Air Force carried out airstrikes on Syrian positions. Turkey claimed to have hit more than 200 targets.
On February 27, Ankara launched Operation Spring Shield, targeting the Syrian Army’s positions.
Turkey earlier conducted three military operations in Syria, dubbed Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring. As a result, Turkey created a safe zone between the border cities of Azaz and Jarabulus, occupied the city of Afrin and took control of areas east of the Euphrates River.
