Moscow, Ankara discuss disengagement of opposition and militants in Idlib, Syria

The process of disengaging the opposition and the Jabhat Al-Nusra terrorist group’s fighters in Idlib, Syria must be carried out with minimal risks for the civilian population, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He made the statement in Moscow on Friday after negotiations with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We have to do everything for the disengagement to take place, to minimize any risks for civilians,” the minister noted. “I am sure that the presidents will discuss this issue in detail.” Lavrov said that “the situation in Idlib is multi-layered and difficult,” and when the de-escalation zone was created there, “no one offered to exploit this zone so that the Jabhat Al-Nusra could use the civilian population as a human shield.” The fighters “conduct raids, attack the positions of the Syrian Army, they have sent about 50 drones from this zone to attack the Russian base in Khmeimim,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.