Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow and Ankara "share deep concern" about the situation in the Syrian region of Idlib, while they agreed to remain unified, while the Kurdish self-administration in northern and northeastern Syria, yesterday, began the withdrawal of fighters Kurds from areas near the border with Turkey, in implementation of the US-Turkish agreement on the establishment of a "safe area."

"The situation in the area of ​​de-escalation in Idlib raises serious concerns for us and our Turkish partners," Putin told a news conference with Erdogan on the sidelines of an air navigation exhibition in Moscow, citing "additional joint measures" aimed at "eliminating terrorists in the Syrian Idlib region." "The situation is normalized there and in Syria as a result."

He stressed that the establishment of a security zone on Turkey's border with Syria would be good for the territorial integrity of Syria, where he also stressed that he agreed with Erdogan on «the need to remain united Syria».

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Syrian government's offensive in the northwest was forcing Turkey to use its right to defend itself. "The situation is so complicated that our soldiers are now in danger," he said. We don't want this to continue. We will take all necessary steps »to protect them.

Syrian forces cordoned off opposition fighters and a Turkish military post in northwestern Syria in an offensive aimed at recovering land and towns lost at the start of the war.

Erdogan said the attack undermined calm in the Idlib area, adding that the attacks were unacceptable.

The meeting between Putin and Erdogan came yesterday as Syrian air strikes targeted rebel-held Idlib province, where Moscow and Ankara declared a demilitarized zone.

The offices of President Putin and Erdogan said the meeting would focus on the Syrian crisis, as the Russian military supports the Syrian offensive on Idlib, close to the border with Turkey.

The escalation of violence in Idlib threatens an agreement reached in September between Russia and Turkey, which supports some rebel groups, to establish a buffer zone, the only point agreed by the two countries in the Syrian multilateral conflict.

The Moscow meeting came a day after Erdogan said Turkey was ready to send ground troops to northern Syria "very soon" in order to maintain the security of its borders.

Russia offered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan its stealth fighter (Sukhoi-57), in the framework of an air show in the Moscow region, yesterday.

Earlier, Interfax quoted Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov as saying: "We will offer him (Erdogan) (Sukhoi-57) and (Sukhoi-35)," referring to the fighter jets produced by the state-owned company Sukhoi.

In the same context, the Kurdish self-administration in northern and northeastern Syria, yesterday, began the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from areas near the border with Turkey, in implementation of the US-Turkish agreement on the establishment of a "safe area."

The self-administration said in a statement that it began on August 24, "the first practical steps" to implement the agreement, by «removing some earth mounds and the withdrawal of a group of YPG and heavy weapons» from the border region of Ras al-Ain.

The United States and Turkey this month, after rounds of bilateral talks, reached an agreement to create a safe area separating the areas of control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Turkish border, to be implemented gradually.

The self-administration stressed that these measures "confirm the seriousness of our commitment to the current understandings," the statement added: "The border points were handed over to local forces."

The self-administration recently established local military councils in several areas with local fighters to protect their areas.

The area extending from Tall Abyad to Ras al-Ain is predominantly Arab, unlike most of Syria's border with Turkey, which is predominantly Kurdish.

The US military command in the region announced on Saturday that the Syrian Democratic Forces destroyed military fortifications in implementation of the agreement.

Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi vowed on Saturday to exert "all our efforts for the success of efforts to achieve understanding or harmony with the Turkish state", in order to establish a safe area.

In implementation of the terms of the agreement, Ankara announced on Saturday that the Turkish-American Joint Operations Center to coordinate the establishment of this region «has begun to work at full capacity».

Washington and Ankara have not announced what the depth of the region will be after a divergence of views, but Ankara has talked about joint checkpoints and patrols.

"Our armed reconnaissance planes and helicopters are in the area, and we expect our troops to enter the region soon," Erdogan said.

Abdi announced earlier this month that "the entire area is five kilometers deep," but in some areas between Ras al-Ain and Tall Abyad the depth will be "between 9 and 14 kilometers."

The Kurdish units are a key partner of the international coalition led by Washington in the fight against ISIS, as they succeeded in defeating the terrorist organization in large areas in northeastern Syria.

But Ankara considers the YPG fighters as "terrorists" and an extension of the PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against its territory for decades.

On the other hand, more than 50 Syrian army forces and armed factions were killed during clashes between the two sides east of Khan Sheikhoun city in the southern countryside of Idlib.

Activists reported that gunmen from Jabhat al-Nusra and other factions launched counter-attacks on Syrian army positions after taking control of this strategic city last week.

After three months of heavy shelling, since the end of April, on several areas in Idlib and its environs, the Syrian army launched an offensive on the 8th of this month in which it was able to take control of the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun and several towns in the neighboring northern countryside of Hama.

HTS (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and militant groups loyal to it control areas in and around Idlib. Less influential opposition factions are also present.

In contrast, the Syrian army has controlled dozens of villages and towns in the southeastern countryside of Idlib since the end of 2017.

Idlib province is covered by a Russian-Turkish agreement reached in Sochi in September, which provided for the establishment of a demilitarized zone without being completed.

Syria has been plagued by a bloody conflict since its outbreak in 2011 that has killed more than 370,000 people, caused massive destruction of infrastructure and displaced more than half of the population inside and outside the country.

In the southern countryside of al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria, yesterday, six people were injured as a result of a terrorist car bomb explosion in the center of the city of Shadadi.

The Syrian Arab News Agency reported that a booby-trapped motorcycle parked next to a taxi station in front of the old court building in Shadadi city, about 60 km south of the city of al-Hasakah, exploded, injuring six people, including a critical condition, who were transferred to the city's hospitals for treatment. A number of people, including three children, were killed on the seventh of this month as a result of the terrorists bombing a car parked next to the communication center in Al-Qahtaniya town, about 30 km east of Al-Qamishli.

- Putin stressed that the establishment of a security zone on

Turkey's border with Syria would be good

For the territorial integrity of Syria.