Turkey’s Erdogan to include Aleppo to “de-escalation zone” – newspaper
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan adopted a tripartite mechanism to include Syria’s Aleppo Governorate to the “de-escalation zone” in northwest Syria, Turkish media reported on Sunday.
The de-escalation zone includes Idlib Governorate and parts of the countryside of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia. In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow regarding the “de-escalation zone” in northwest Syria that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway. The areas is militarily controlled by the Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA). Politically and administratively, it is run by the Interim Government and the Syrian National Coalition (SNC).
The Turkish Sabah newspaper reported that Erdogan issued instructions to form a tripartite mechanism including the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the AKP bloc in the Parliament to “encourage” Syrian refugees in Turkey to return to Syria.
According to the newspaper, Turkey is negotiating with Russia and Syrian government on the return of Syrian refugees to Aleppo, claiming the key point of the talks is to “revitalize” social and commercial life there and creating job opportunities for the returning refugees.
Turkey claims that its mechanism would revive the commercial and social aspects of life in Aleppo, according to the newspaper.