Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday agreed to implement a ceasefire in in Idlib, Syria, which has lately been dogged by heightened violence.

The two leaders struck a deal to end hostilities with the creation of a 6-kiloeter safe-zone around M4 highway in a week.

The deal comes after the two leaders held a meeting in Moscow amid increased fighting between Turkish and Syrian government forces in Idlib.

Last week, Turkey and fighters aligned to it launched a military operation in the region after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by the Russian-backed Syrian army.

The ceasefire deal was announced in a joint press conference by the two leaders.

Source: AP