On July 23, Russia and Turkey carried out a successful “end-to-end” joint patrol of the M4 highway in Syria, a strategic roadway linking the country’s east and west and passing through the opposition-controlled Idlib province. While this development is an encouraging sign that further de-escalation measures may proceed, the threat of renewed conflict remains.

The latest patrol comes four months after Ankara and Moscow reached a cease-fire agreement in the war-torn province, following March talks in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The March 5 agreement — an “additional protocol” to the Sochi agreement — called for the establishment of a security corridor 6 kilometers (about 3.5 miles) north and south of the M4 highway, with joint Russian-Turkish patrols aimed at ensuring the cease-fire.

Through the latest patrols, Ankara has confirmed its commitment to abide by the bilateral agreements on Idlib and demonstrated its readiness to implement further clauses of the agreements. Yet at the same time, despite the existing progress in the fulfillment of the obligations by the Turkish side, instead of a reduction in tension around Idlib, there is a buildup of forces by the Syrian government along the perimeter of this de-escalation zone. This may become a harbinger of the preparation of a new military campaign.

Earlier exchanges of fire between government forces and the opposition took place in this Syrian region. Airstrikes (albeit very limited) by the Syrian army’s air force and the Russian air force resumed, including a strike on the city of al-Bab, located outside the Idlib de-escalation zone in the operational area of the Turkish Euphrates Shield zone.