Turkish, Russian officials to discuss Syria in Ankara

By Sarp Ozer</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Russian defense minister will arrive in Turkey on Monday to discuss Syria with his Turkish counterpart, according to Turkish National Defense Ministry sources.</p> <p>Russia’s Sergey Shoygu will pay a visit to the capital Ankara upon the invitation of Turkey’s Hulusi Akar, said the sources, speaking anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to the media.</p> <p>The two ministers are expected to discuss latest developments in Syria, particularly in Idlib, before a planned summit on Syria between Turkey, Russia and Iran in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Thursday.</p> <p>Last September in Russia’s resort city of Sochi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to establish the Idlib de-escalation zone. </p> <p>The following month saw all heavy weapons withdrawn from the de-escalation zone by Syrian opposition and anti-regime groups. </p> <p>Nevertheless, according to the White Helmets, at least 30 people in Idlib were killed in January, including women and children, while another 180 were injured — in Idlib, Hama and Latakia — by regime drone attacks and artillery fire. </p> <p>Last month also saw the regime targeting Idlib’s southeastern countryside, along with rural parts of the Aleppo, Latakia and Hama provinces. </p> <p>Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.</p> <p>