Reuters- Russia, Iran and Turkey have agreed to deploy observers on the edge of a de-escalation zone in northern Syria�s Idlib region, which is largely controlled by Islamist militants, Turkey�s foreign ministry said on Friday.


�Observers from these three countries will be deployed at check and observation points in safe zones that form the borders of the de-escalation zone,� the ministry said in a statement after talks in Kazakhstan.


It said the mission of the observers would be to prevent clashes between �the (Syrian) regime and the opposition forces, and any violations of the truce�.


Idlib province, in northwest Syria on the border with Turkey, is largely under the control of a rebel alliance spearheaded by the former al Qaeda offshoot Nusra Front.


It was one of four regions across Syria, mainly controlled by opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, which Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed in May to designate as de-escalation zones in support of a ceasefire agreement.


Russia and Iran have been strong supporters of Assad during the six-year-old conflict, while Turkey has backed some of the rebel factions who fought to overthrow him.


�This announcement of a de-escalation zone in Idlib constitutes the final stage of the realization of the memorandum signed in May,� the Turkish foreign ministry said, adding that the May accord had brought a significant decline in violence.


�With this latest development, the memorandum is making a significant contribution to providing necessary conditions to further the political solution process going on in Geneva under UN monitoring.�