Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin say they have reached agreements that could end fighting in northwestern Syria, Eurasia Diary reports citing TRT News.

They say a ceasefire will come into force in Idlib at midnight.

Putin also voiced hope that the deal would end civilian suffering and help contain a humanitarian crisis.

The two countries' foreign ministers said that the agreement involves a ceasefire that must be enforced starting at midnight along the existing battle lines.

The deal also envisages setting up a 12-km (7-mile) -wide security corridor along the M4 highway. The corridor will be jointly patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops, starting March 15.

Putin said he and Erdogan reached an agreement on a joint document during the talks in Moscow that lasted for more than six hours.

A senior Turkish official said the agreement was an accomplishment of Turkey's interest-oriented independent foreign policy. While the negotiations were being held in Moscow, the US president's special envoy was hosted in Istanbul.

The official said over three million civilians remain stuck in Idlib and the threat of irregular migration from this area is still real. 

"These most recent developments established the need for a comprehensive and effective solution to the humanitarian crisis in the region," the official added.

Turkey dealt a heavy blow to the Assad regime with its own capabilities and demonstrated its commitment to playing a role in Syria's future, he said, and added, "We made clear that no attack on Turkish troops would go unpunished."

The official also stated that this agreement would not stop the US and the EU from supporting Ankara. Confidence-building measures, such as the deployment of air defence systems and intelligence sharing, are necessary, he added. 

The Turkey-Russia agreement does not mean a reversal of Turkey’s refugee policy, the official said.

"Russia decided to reach a settlement in order to not sacrifice its multi dimensional relationship with Turkey for the sake of the Assad regime's greed and ambitions."