The work to demarcate the Syrian opposition and terrorists in Idlib province is far from complete, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday.
"On Idlib: the only way to resolve this situation in accordance with Resolution 2254 is for our Turkish colleagues to complete the implementation of those agreements that were reached between Russian and Turkish presidents [Vladimir] Putin and [Tayyip] Erdogan a couple of years ago already, which involve the separation of the normal, sane opposition from terrorists, primarily from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [one of the names of the Russian-banned organization Jebhat al-Nusra]," he said. - "The process has been initiated, but it is far from complete, there is still a lot to be done".
"We are constantly talking about this with our Turkish colleagues through the military, including suggesting specific ways that we can help our Turkish partners implement the agreements of the two presidents. The work is going on, it is, unfortunately, far from being complete," the minister added.
Idlib is the only region of Syria, a large part of which remains in the hands of militants. In 2017, a northern de-escalation zone was created there, where extremists who refused to lay down their arms in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta and the southern regions of the country moved. There are observation posts of the Turkish army in the province.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS