The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced today, Sunday, the conduct of the first joint military patrol between the Russian and Turkish forces on both sides of the international "M4" road, which links the provinces of Aleppo and Latakia through Idlib, northern Syria.

The move comes in implementation of the agreement between the Turkish and Russian presidents during their summit in Moscow on March 5.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Turkey would be given additional time to liquidate what it described as terrorists, and to provide security for the joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the Aleppo-Lattakia M4 road.

It is noteworthy that two military delegations from both sides held meetings in Ankara over a period of four days, to discuss the technical details of these patrols.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in Moscow on March 5, and reached a cease-fire agreement in Idlib as of the next day of the meeting.

A joint statement was issued by the two countries that included agreement to establish a safe passage to a depth of six kilometers north of the international road and the same south of it.

The agreement came against the background of developments in Idlib, following the recent escalation in the region, which culminated in the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers on February 27, as a result of aerial bombardments by the Syrian regime forces.

As a result, Turkey launched Operation "Spring Shield" against the Syrian regime forces in Idlib.