Скачать или смотреть Russian FM: remaining terrorist nest in Idlib

(28 Jan 2019) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday said that the Syrian government has assured Moscow they would deal with the "remaining terrorist nest" in northwestern Idlib province.
Lavrov's comments came amid rising violations of a cease-fire in Syria's west negotiated by Turkey and Russia and in place since September.
The de-escalation deal in Idlib province averted a Syrian government offensive on the armed opposition enclave, which is also home to nearly three million people.
The agreement created a security zone free of heavy weapons and monitored by Turkish troops to halt fighting.
But infighting between the armed groups in Idlib escalated into a major showdown.
Earlier this month, members of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, took over control of Idlib and the surrounding countryside and forced rival Turkey-backed insurgents to accept an HTS-controlled administration.
"The fact that al-Nusra and its new incarnation, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, in fact have occupied a significant part of territory does not correspond to the agreements concluded to solve the security issue in Idlib," Lavrov said on Monday, speaking at a briefing in Moscow, alongside visiting Kazakh counterpart, Beibut Atamkulov.
Last week, Russia complained that al-Qaida-linked group's hold increasingly threatened its air base and urged Turkey to do more to rein in the militants in the enclave.
The Syrian government has repeatedly threatened to launch an offensive to recapture Idlib province, while Turkey had complained that Damascus was trying to undermine the deal.
Lavrov also spoke about the tense situation on the Syrian-Turkish border and said the countries should work together to ensure security along the border based on the 1999 Adana agreement.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...