Troops From Russia, Iran and Turkey to Monitor Syria Safe Zone

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to establish and monitor a combat-free zone in and around the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib after two days of talks on ending the country’s six-year war.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said the deal was struck in Astana, Kazakhstan, where officials have held several rounds of a Russia-backed peace initiative. The three guarantor nations agreed to deploy and coordinate forces along the boundaries of the so-called de-escalation zone to monitor for violations by opposition groups or forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Idlib province, on the border with Turkey, is largely under the control of Islamist groups.