An agreement with Russia has allowed thousands of Syrians to return to their homes in Idlib, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday.

“Thankfully, as of now, things seem to be improving (in Idlib),” the president told reporters in New York.

“Even yesterday, 50,000-60,000 people returned home. These are beautiful developments. I hope it will continue,” he said.

Erdoğan said regional partners including Germany, where the president is carrying out an official visit, will begin looking toward reconstruction of the Idlib province in northern Syria now that a cease-fire has been negotiated with Russia.

However, he refused to rule out the possibility that Russia could resume bombing in the area, saying: “We have the promises of Mr. Putin.”

“In the meantime, we will also make a quad summit in Istanbul. Germany, Russia, France and Turkey will meet in Istanbul. Preliminary interviews have been made, now the date needs to be determined,” he told reporters.

When asked if the U.S. made a contribution to the Sochi agreement between Turkey, Russia and Iran, Erdoğan said the leaders did not give much concern to what the U.S. would say of their negotiations.

Erdoğan criticized the U.S. for failing to “strictly comply” with the Manbij road map in the agreed upon time frame, stating: “The (People’s Protection Units) YPG did not leave that area. The real owners of the area still cannot get there. America did not keep his promise here.”

He pointed out the importance of the checkpoints set up in Syria to maintain the de-escalation zone.

“We have 12 observation points, Russia has 10 observation points and Iran has six observation points,” he said.

Turkey and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for preserving the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

According to the agreement reached in Russia’s Sochi, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas where they are already present, while radical groups will lay down their arms and leave the region. Under the pact, Russia and Turkey will carry out joint patrols in the area.

The province of Idlib is the largest and last opposition stronghold. As of recently, Turkey has been eager to prevent a potential regime offensive there to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

Source:Dailysabah.com