Summit of European leaders on Syria held in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, (Patria) - The summit of leaders on Syria, attended by the presidents of Turkey, Russia, France, and Germany - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel - concluded in the evening hours in Istanbul.

The summit brought together for the first time parties supporting opposing forces in Syria.

UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who is leaving his post at the end of November for family reasons, also participated in the meeting.

Ahead of the summit's opening, Macron tweeted that "Syria's stability is at stake today to avoid a new humanitarian catastrophe.".

Ankara, which supports rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow, Assad's main foreign ally, agreed last month to create a demilitarized zone in the northwestern Idlib region.

Idlib and surrounding areas are the last stronghold of rebels who rose up against Assad in 2011.

About three million people currently live in that area, and more than half of them have arrived from other areas fleeing an offensive by government forces.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement in Sochi on September 17, which provides for a buffer zone 15 to 20 kilometers wide within rebel territory in Idlib province and parts of the neighboring provinces of Hama, Latakia, and Aleppo.

According to the agreement, this area should also be cleared of its heavy weapons, and all members of armed groups must leave it.