Russia Calls Off Idlib Attack, Agrees With Turkey on Buffer Zone
- Buffer-zone deal in Idlib follows Western threats to intervene
- Tensions rise after Russia blames Israel in downing of plane
Russia called off a campaign against the last major rebel-held area in Syria, preventing for now an escalation in the seven-year war, after Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached a deal on Monday.
The pact came just over a week after Putin rejected Erdogan’s call for a cease-fire in the area and is the latest example of the Kremlin’s tense balancing act among the rival factions in the Syrian conflict. A new test for Moscow came late Monday, as 15 Russian servicemen were killed when a reconnaissance aircraft was shot down off the Syrian coast. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the plane was hit mistakenly by an air-defense missile fired by Syrian forces that were under attack from Israeli planes. Israel declined comment.