On 11 February the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara. The two ministers discussed about the recent situation in Syria within the framework of the “Astana Process” and anticipating the Iranian, Turkish and Russian Heads of State’s meeting scheduled on 14 February in Sochi. Russian news agency RIA reported that the two ministers agreed on the necessity to take decisive measures in Syrian city Idlib’s province in order to stabilize the situation. The final joint statement of the meeting does not further elaborate on those measures. In September 2018 Ankara and Moscow decided to establish a demilitarized zone in the northwest region of Idlib. The deal was welcomed by Syrian President Assad as the Idlib’s region is used to count on an important presence of opposition militia.