Turkey, Russia say committed to Astana, Sochi peace deals

ISTANBUL, June 17 (KUNA) -- Turkey and Russia stressed Monday on their commitments to the Astana and Sochi peace deals.
Turkish Hulusi Akar and Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu exchanged views in a telephone call on measures needed to ensure peace, stability and a durable cease-fire in Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The two ministers also discussed regional security issues.
In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-militarized zone after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia's coastal city of Sochi.
Ankara and Moscow signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the stabilization of the situation in Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are prohibited.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing more than 10 million others. (end) ta.mb