Idlib situation untenable if militants don’t comply with Russia-Turkey deal – Syrian FM

Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on Monday the situation in Idlib was untenable if militants do not comply with a Russian-Turkish agreement for the area, on the day of a critical deal deadline. Moallem said it was up to Russia now to judge whether the deal to prevent a Syrian government offensive on Syria’s rebel-held Idlib had been fulfilled, Reuters reports. “We cannot keep quiet about the continuation of the current situation in Idlib if the Nusra Front refuses to comply with this agreement,” Moallem said at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Damascus. The deal sets up a demilitarized zone running 15-20 km deep into rebel territory that must be evacuated of all heavy weapons and all militant groups by Monday. The minister also said that Syria’s next target after recovering Idlib from rebels was the area east of the Euphrates, indicating territory held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The area, like all parts of Syria, has to return to Syrian sovereignty, Moallem said.