Syrias transport ministry announced on Saturday that the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo is open to the public after regime troops retook control in a Russian-backed offensive. "Transport Minister Ali Hammoud announces the opening of the Damascus-Aleppo highway to traffic, placing it at the service of citizens," the ministry said in its statement. Clearing insurgents from the highway was part of a 2018 Russian-Turkish deal that called for creating a buffer zone between combatants in the Idlib region of the northwest, though fighting has raged on, Reuters reported. With Russian backing, the Syrian regime regained ground in northwest Syria, the last major opposition stronghold, since December. According to the United Nations, the offensive has uprooted nearly a million people, the largest exodus of the nine-year war. Turkey has "determined our road map" for Syria after calls with the leaders of Russia, Germany and France, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. "We will announce to all parties that we are at the table," he told a crowd in Izmir. Under its agreements with Russia, Turkey has forces stationed at observation posts in the northwest. Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing sides in Syrias conflict, have collaborated in trying to reach a political settlement. According to Reuters, tensions between the two sides have spiralled during the latest offensive, with both accusing the other of flouting agreements. Meanwhile, Turkey has warned that it will use military power to repel Syrian advances in the Idlib offensive, during which 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed this month.