In one of the first, albeit small signs of the de-escalation of violence in the Idlib province of Syria, Russian and Turkish troops carried out joint patrols along the all-important M4 highway.

The northwestern part of Syria has been a bloody, violent place since late last year. 

“Within the framework of the Moscow agreement, the first joint Turkish-Russian land patrol on the M4 highway has been completed with the contribution of air and land assets,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Russians also stated that their troops and armored vehicles took part in the joint patrol. The patrol began from the village of Tronba, which is the farthest point that the rebels fighting against the Syrian government have control of.