Erdogan-Putin Meet
The President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed on a ceasefire agreement to de-escalate the Syrian situation.
Syrian Civil War
The Syrian Civil War is considered one of the deadliest in the 21st century. It began in 2011 as a part of the Arab Spring movement. It is a multi-sided war that was triggered by discontent against the Syrian government.
Proxy War
The Syrian War has been described as a proxy war- an armed conflict in which the actors act on behalf of parties that aren’t directly involved in the issue. Russia and Turkey are some of the foreign parties. Turkey backs the anti-government forces while Russia backs the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. USA, Iran and Saudi Arabia are other such parties.
Idlib
Idlib is a province in the north-western part of Syria. It is currently the site of rising tensions between the Syrian government forces and the Turkish forces. It is the last remaining battleground in the war. It is one of the few strongholds of the parties trying to overthrow the Assad government.
The Ceasefire Deal
In the past, several agreements to cease the fighting in Idlib have failed. Recently, the Presidents of Turkey and Russia met to agree on a ceasefire deal. As a part of the deal, a secure 12km corridor will be opened near the M4 Highway. This runs through Idlib. It will be jointly patrolled from mid-March onwards.
