Buffer to go ahead in Syria, says Russia
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A DAY after jihadists missed a deadline under a demilitarization deal for Syria鈥檚 Idlib, Russia said the deal was still going ahead.
The agreement, reached by rebel backer Turkey and regime ally Moscow, gave 鈥渞adical fighters鈥 until Monday to leave a horseshoe-shaped buffer around the last major opposition stronghold in the war-ravaged country.
But they have held their ground, and jihadist heavyweight Hayat Tahrir al-Sham pledged to continue fighting 鈥 despite not taking an explicit position on the deal.
By yesterday, more than 24 hours after the deadline, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said there were 鈥渘o signs鈥 of an HTS evacuation.
Under the deal, the jihadists鈥 departure would pave the way for patrols of the zone by its Russian and Turkish sponsors.
鈥淲e did not monitor on Tuesday any withdrawal or patrols in the buffer area,鈥 said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
The Kremlin however said yesterday the deal was being implemented despite some setbacks.
鈥淭he memorandum is being implemented and the military are satisfied with the way the Turkish side is working in this regard,鈥 presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
鈥淥f course one cannot expect everything to go smoothly with absolutely no glitches, but the work is being carried out.鈥
There was no reaction from Ankara, which observers said was a sign of a de facto grace period to allow the deal to be implemented. Clearing the buffer of HTS and more extreme jihadists was seen as the real test of the September 17 accord.
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