Turkey acts together with Russia as Syria ceasefire guarantor - Russian defense minister

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry has prepared a hotline for interaction with Turkey, which acts together with Russia as a guarantor of the general ceasefire in Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. "The Defense Ministry has prepared a hotline for maintaining interaction with the Turkish side, which is acting together with Russia as a guarantor of the ceasefire and the observance of the accords achieved," the defense minister said. The Russian Defense Ministry has established a direct communications channel with Turkish colleagues, Shoigu said. According to the Russian defense minister, all the pre-requisites have been created for the cessation of combat operations in Syria and for a direct dialog between the Syrian government and the opposition interested in preserving the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. "Conditions have been created for reducing the grouping of the Russian forces on the territory of Syria," the defense minister said. The ceasefire regime in Syria will come into effect at midnight, December 30. Read more