The Russian ambassador in Damascus said that Moscow is counting on Ankara to take measures to separate and neutralize the moderate armed opposition from terrorists in Idlib, noting that renaming them will not change their terrorist nature.
“We expect in this regard that Turkish partners will continue their efforts to separate the moderate opposition from the terrorists and take measures to neutralize them later … Renaming them with other designations does not mean a change in their terrorist nature,” Alexander Efimov added in an interview with the Novosti agency.
The diplomat pointed out that the Russian-Turkish agreements helped reduce tension in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, stressing that the Turkish side does not reduce the importance and necessity of continuing the war against terrorism and returning those lands to the sovereignty of the Syrian government, moreover, confirming the Sochi Memorandum of 2018 and the agreements The last between us and the Turkish side is to combat all forms of terrorism and eliminate groups that fall under this definition.
The ambassador stated that “Idlib is still under the control of terrorist groups bent on continuing violence and bloodshed, and not under the control of moderate opposition factions, which was evident with the entry into force of the ceasefire in Idlib on the sixth of last March, which these terrorist groups did not adhere to as the editorial staff. The Levant, which sought to obstruct the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreements, from daily missile strikes to safe areas and attacks using planes driving the Hmeimim base.
The ambassador stressed that “the seriousness of the matter also lies in the M-4 highway area, which is being targeted by terrorist groups and impeding the conduct of joint Russian-Turkish patrols in the (security corridor), and deliberately detonating bridges.”
The Ambassador stressed that contacts are underway between Russia and Turkey through various departments to ensure compliance with the agreements reached, saying: “We assume that all specific tasks can be resolved, the remaining Turkish military presence in the de-escalation zone will be temporary and eventually the time will come to end its presence over there”.
With regard to combating the Corona epidemic in the Idlib area and providing humanitarian assistance to the residents of that region, the ambassador pointed out that the difficulty lies “in light of the repressive practices of these groups from looting and kidnappings, as happened when they seized and looted the Syrian Red Crescent offices.”
Source: Novosti
