Member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Sergey Zheleznyak commented on Monday the agreement reached in Sochi between Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan to create a demilitarized zone in the Syrian province of Idlib.
“In proposing to form a zone of de-escalation, our countries demonstrate humanity and a readiness to do everything to avoid casualties among civilians in liquidating nests of terrorism in Idlib,” the Committee member said.
Sergey Zheleznyak noted that an important outcome of the meeting between the heads of Russia and Turkey was a common understanding of the unacceptability of provocations and external pressure on a sovereign state.
“This primarily concerns the US and its coalition, whose presence on the territory of the country is illegal and contrary to the interests of the Syrian people. Realizing that they lose control over the situation, a number of Western countries are ready to support the opposition and even turn a blind eye to the actions of terrorists, just to stay in Syria and not allow the country to unite. All the guarantor countries of the peace process in Syria express their categorical disagreement with such destructive policies,” the parliamentarian said.
In his opinion, the results of the meeting of the leaders of Russia and Turkey testify to mutual understanding and readiness for constructive interaction of the two countries-guarantors of the Syrian settlement. Zheleznyak believes that the new agreements will expand bilateral relations and positively affect the economy.