ALEPPO, Syria — Turkey has been seeking to secure the strategic flashpoint M4 highway connecting Aleppo and Latakia in southern Idlib in a bid to resume joint Russian-Turkish patrols, as per the cease-fire reached between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on March 5.

The Turkish army has recently stepped up measures, mostly sending more military convoys, setting up new outposts on both sides of the road and conducting patrols in separate parts of the strategic highway.

The situation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib continues to be volatile. There have been mutual violations of the cease-fire between the opposition armed forces and the Syrian regime on the Idlib fronts. The contact points have been witnessing clashes and bombardments on both sides. The regime forces seem to be ready to engage in battles again, as heavy military reinforcements have been mobilized in Idlib with intensified airstrikes.

After being met by protesters blocking the road March 15, the Turkish army managed on March 24-25 to conduct two patrols on the M4 highway without any Russian forces.