Russia and Turkey have agreed to create a demilitarised zone in Syria’s Idlib region after marathon talks between the countries’ presidents to avert a military assault on the country’s last rebel-held bastion.

The agreement is set to avoid the full-scale bombardment of Idlib advocated by Moscow and Damascus. It makes a concession to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had called for a ceasefire and the targeted removal of terror groups that have based themselves in the area.

After four and a half hours of talks between Mr Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the two men said that all terror groups and heavy weaponry would be expelled from a 15-20km wide zone by October 15, and that troops from both countries would patrol the area.