Syrian regime forces have completed measures to kick off a military offensive against the last stronghold of opposition forces in Idlib but on Sunday made no military advances on the northern province. The calm in Idlib and its surroundings came on the eve of an expected summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi to discuss the latest situation in Syria and try to avert a possible offensive. According to the Russian press service, the leaders will discuss issues of bilateral cooperation and the problems facing settlement deals in Syria. Ankara has launched intense diplomatic efforts to avoid a possible full-scale military operation by Bashar Assads forces on Idlib. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Russian-Turkish truce, which was put in effect about a month ago in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Idlib and Latakia, has been breached. The Observatory said regime forces have targeted areas in Jabal Al-Akrad and the hills of Kabanah in Latakia’s countryside, followed by shelling on areas in the southeastern countryside of Idlib. Although opposition fighters have been gearing up for a possible confrontation with regime forces in their stronghold, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Sunday said its forces would not join any battle in Idlib. “As the probability of a military campaign in the city of Idlib and its surroundings increases, some media outlets have been speaking about the participation of our forces in this operation. This kind of allegation is mere speculation and is far from the truth,” Nuri Mahmud, the official YPG spokesman, said in a statement. Separately, and for the first time since the start of the 2011 uprising against Assad, Syrian nationals residing in regime-controlled areas cast on Sunday their ballots in local elections. The regime opened more than 6,550 electoral stations, where Syrians cast ballots for more than 40,000 candidates competing for 18,478 seats on local administrative councils.