Turkish and Russian servicemen will be deployed in Syria's northern Idlib region as part of a de-escalation agreement brokered by Russia last month, Turkish presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın said on Thursday. Kalın also said Russia has proposed deploying troops from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to Syria, to monitor de-escalation zones there.
The de-escalation zones, agreed by Turkey, Russia and Iran, would be further discussed during talks in the Kazakh capital Astana in early July, Kalın said. The group is still working on the de-escalation zones map with demarcation lines, he added.
"There is a working group on the Syria de-escalation zones. Last week, [Alexander] Lavrentyev, the envoy of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for Syria, was here. We had detailed negotiations with him," Kalın said.
"A mechanism is being developed within the framework of which our and Russian servicemen could maybe be in Idlib, Russian and Iranian [servicemen] near Damascus, Jordanian and US [servicemen] south of Daraa," he added.
Kalın also said the Russian side had put forward a proposal to send servicemen from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to de-escalation zones in Syria. "There was even a proposal from the Russians to send a certain number of Kyrgyz and Kazakh [servicemen]. They too can take their place in the framework of these efforts... but all this requires detailed work," he said.
Vladimir Shamanov, head of the Russian Duma defence committee, told RIA news agency Moscow was discussing proposals to send Kazakh and Kyrgyz troops to Syria with representatives of those countries. "The negotiation process has begun, there is no decision yet," he said.
Under their May 4 accord, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to establish four separate de-escalation zones in Syria for at least six months.
The largest of the planned zones includes Idlib province, which neighbours Turkey, and adjoining districts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
The other three zones are in northern Homs province, the Eastern Ghouta region east of the capital Damascus and along the Jordanian border in southern Syria.
The three countries had been due to finalise maps of the de-escalation zones by June 4, but have not said whether the agreement has been reached.
