Germany hails Turkey’s ‘extraordinarily positive role’ in Syria’s Idlib

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas hailed Turkey’s constructive role in Syria’s Idlib province after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that their troops would enforce a new demilitarized zone in Idlib.

“We have also seen that Turkey has played an extraordinarily positive role regarding discussions in Syria and Idlib - ultimately Turkey managed to agree with Russia on a demilitarized zone and that’s extremely important,” Maas said at a news conference on Friday in Berlin.

Ankara and Moscow signed an agreement Monday that calls for the demilitarization of Idlib, following a summit in Russia's coastal Black Sea town of Sochi.

Opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area to prevent any renewal of fighting.

Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled to other cities following attacks by Assad regime forces.

Last month, the regime announced plans to launch a major military offensive in Idlib, Syria’s last opposition stronghold.

Maas also noted that it was in Germany’s interests for Turkey to be economically stable, and added that he thought Turkey was able to make the necessary decisions to restore that stability after the lira lost value against the U.S. dollar amidst a row with Washington.

Maas said his visit to Turkey early this month was the beginning of a new process of improving ties between Berlin and Ankara, and stressed that high-level visits will continue in the coming days and weeks.

“It think it is much better if we engage with each other and talk to each other, instead of talking about each other,” he said.