ANKARA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish and Russian troops held their ninth joint patrol along a key highway in the northwestern Idlib province of Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
"Within the framework of TUR-RF Agreement/Protocol, the 9th TUR-RF Combined Land Patrol on M-4 Highway in Idlib was conducted with the participation of land and air elements," the ministry tweeted.
The eighth joint patrol was carried out on Tuesday, and the seventh joint patrol was held on April 30, as the two countries accelerated the frequency of the patrolling activities in Idlib.
The key M4 highway is about 30 km away from the southern border of Turkey.
On March 5, Turkey and Russia sealed a deal to maintain a temporary cease-fire for "all military actions along the line of contact in the Idlib de-escalation area" and envisaged the establishment of a security corridor 6 km to the north and 6 km to the south of the M4 highway.
Joint Turkish-Russian patrols began on March 15 along the M4 highway as part of the deal. Enditem
