Memorandum on Stabilisation of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area

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Country/entity: Russia
Syria
Turkey
Region: Europe and Eurasia
Middle East and North Africa
Europe and Eurasia
Agreement name: Memorandum on Stabilisation of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area
Date: 17 Sep 2018
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - )
The agreements relate to three different conflict contexts. Israel-Syria and Syria-Lebanon. The Syrian-Israeli conflict was a key factor for the Syrian intervention during the Lebanese Civil War, with Syrian-backed Palestinian Liberation Army units intervened in 1976 against the Palestinian/Leftist militias. Following a massacre at Tel al-Zaatar that year, Syria was forced to accept a ceasefire at a meeting of the Arab League. However, the Arab League also mandated an Arab Deterrence Force, consisting of mostly Syrian soldiers with token contributions from other Arab League states, thus further legitimizing the Syrian presence in Lebanon. During a second bout of fighting that began in 1989, caused by the formation of rival Lebanese regimes in East and West Beirut, the Syrian-backed regime won and in 1991 the ‘Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination’ was signed to legalize the Syrian occupation as a means to ensure the security of Syria. Syrian forces were forced to withdraw in 2005 following possible involvement in the assassination of Lebanon’s President Hariri.

Syria-internal. In 2011, domestic upheaval following a wave of protests across the Arab World soon led to violent repression of protestors by Syrian government troops. The violence progressed steadily and by July 2011 the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed consisting of defected military units and new recruits. The FSA and rebel umbrella group known as the Syrian National Council represented the first attempt at coordinating rebel factions in late 2011. However, a steady influx of foreign fighters and increased sectarianism radicalised opposition groups, which relied on foreign funding. The nature of the conflict changed drastically in late 2013 as infighting among the opposition groups increased. One of the more significant developments was the split between the al-Qaeda outfits the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS), and Jabhat al-Nusra in early 2014 in addition to the intensified targeting of other rebel factions by ISIS fighters in particular, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, the FSA and other jihadist outfits. Since the summer of 2014, the conflict was further internationalized when ISIS announced the formation of an Islamic state eroding the state line between Iraq and Syria and also in mid-2015 when Russian forces intervened on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad government in Damascus.
Stage: Implementation/renegotiation
Conflict nature: Government
Peace process: Syrian peace process
Parties: Republic of Turkey;
Russian Federation
Third parties: -
Description: -

Agreement document: SY_180917_Memorandum on Stabilisation of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: Page 1, 7. Turkish Armed Forces and the military police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will conduct coordinated patrols and monitoring with UAVs along the boundaries of the demilitarized zone.
With a view to ensuring free movement of local residents and goods and restoring trade and economic relations.

Page 1, 8. Transit traffic on the routes M4 (Aleppo-Latakia) and M5 (Aleppo-Hama) will be restored by the end of 2018.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: No specific mention.
Ceasefire: Security sector→Ceasefire→Ceasefire provision
Page 1, 1. The Idlib de-escalation area will be preserved and Turkish observation posts will be fortified and continue to function.

Page 1, 2. The Russian Federation will take all necessary measures to ensure that military operations and attacks on Idlib will be avoided and the existing status quo will be maintained.

Page 1, 9. Effective measures will be taken for ensuring sustainable ceasefire regime within the Idlib de-escalation area. In this regard, the functions of the Joint Iranian-Russian-Turkish Coordination Center will be enhanced.
Security sector→Ceasefire→General commitments
Page 1, 3. A demilitarized zone, 15-20 kms deep in the de-escalation area will be established.

Page 1, 4. The delineation of exact lines of the demilitarised zone will be determined through further consultations.

Page 1, 5. All radical terrorist groups will be removed from the demilitarized zone by October 15.

Page 1, 6. All tanks, MLRS, artillery and mortars belonging to conflicting parties will be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone by October 10, 2018.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: Security sector→DDR→Demilitarisation provisions
Page 1, 3. A demilitarized zone, 15-20 kms deep in the de-escalation area will be established.

Page 1, 4. The delineation of exact lines of the demilitarised zone will be determined through further consultations.

Page 1, 5. All radical terrorist groups will be removed from the demilitarized zone by October 15.

Page 1, 6. All tanks, MLRS, artillery and mortars belonging to conflicting parties will be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone by October 10, 2018.

Page 1, 7. Turkish Armed Forces and the military police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will conduct coordinated patrols and monitoring with UAVs along the boundaries of the demilitarized zone.
With a view to ensuring free movement of local residents and goods and restoring trade and economic relations.

Page 1, 9. Effective measures will be taken for ensuring sustainable ceasefire regime within the Idlib de-escalation area. In this regard, the functions of the Joint Iranian-Russian-Turkish Coordination Center will be enhanced.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: Page 1, 5. All radical terrorist groups will be removed from the demilitarized zone by October 15.

Page 1, 10. The two sides reiterated their determination to combat terrorism in Syria in all forms and manifestations.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: Page 1, 7. Turkish Armed Forces and the military police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will conduct coordinated patrols and monitoring with UAVs along the boundaries of the demilitarized zone.
With a view to ensuring free movement of local residents and goods and restoring trade and economic relations.

Page 1, 1. The Idlib de-escalation area will be preserved and Turkish observation posts will be fortified and continue to function.

Page 1, 2. The Russian Federation will take all necessary measures to ensure that military operations and attacks on Idlib will be avoided and the existing status quo will be maintained.

Page 1, 9. Effective measures will be taken for ensuring sustainable ceasefire regime within the Idlib de-escalation area. In this regard, the functions of the Joint Iranian-Russian-Turkish Coordination Center will be enhanced.
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: Voltaire, Memorandum on Stabilization of the Situation in the Idlib De-escalation Area, 17 September 2017, https://www.voltairenet.org/article203066.html

The Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation, as guarantors of the observance of the ceasefire regime in the Syrian Arab Republic,

- guided by memorandum on creation of de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic as of May 4, 2017 and arrangements achieved in the Astana Process

- in order to stabilize yhe situation in the Idlib de-escalation area as soon as possible,

Have agreed on the following :

1. The Idlib de-escalation area will be preserved and Turkish observation posts will be fortified and continue to function.

2. The Russian Federation will take all necessary measures to ensure that military operations and attacks on Idlib will be avoided and the existing status quo will be maintained.

3. A demilitarized zone, 15-20 kms deep in the de-escalation area will be established.

4. The delineation of exact lines of the demilitarised zone will be determined through further consultations.

5. All radical terrorist groups will be removed from the demilitarized zone by October 15.

6. All tanks, MLRS, artillery and mortars belonging to conflicting parties will be withdrawn from the demilitarized zone by October 10, 2018.

7. Turkish Armed Forces and the military police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will conduct coordinated patrols and monitoring with UAVs along the boundaries of the demilitarized zone.

With a view to ensuring free movement of local residents and goods and restoring trade and economic relations.

8. Transit traffic on the routes M4 (Aleppo-Latakia) and M5 (Aleppo-Hama) will be restored by the end of 2018.

9. Effective measures will be taken for ensuring sustainable ceasefire regime within the Idlib de-escalation area.

In this regard, the functions of the Joint Iranian-Russian-Turkish Coordination Center will be enhanced.

10. The two sides reiterated their determination to combat terrorism in Syria in all forms and manifestations.

Done in Sochi on September 17, 2018 in two copies both in English and Russian having equal force.