SOCHI, August 1. /TASS/. Moscow believes that no harm should come to civilians as the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib is being resolved, Russia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters.
"The situation in Idlib can be described as critical because there are a lot of radical militants there who have been terrorizing locals, using them as human shields," he said, adding that "we have already seen it in Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta and southern Syria."
"We hope that even if some steps are taken, no harm will come to civilians. Everything possible must be done for that," Lavrentyev pointed out.
According to him, there is currently no question of a Syrian army’s offensive in Idlib. "We hope that the moderate opposition and our Turkish partners, who are responsible for stabilizing the situation in the region, will manage to accomplish this task. The threat coming from this area is still significant," the Russian envoy added.
"Russian military personnel have downed more than 26 unmanned aerial vehicles carrying explosives near the Hmeimim air base in the past month alone," he noted. "We cannot stand aside as if nothing is happening. The Russian military will adequately respond to every such attempt," he said.
"If the moderate opposition fails in handling terrorists on its own, then so be it, we are ready to help," Lavrentyev said, adding that Moscow was open to cooperation with the moderate opposition in the fight against militants.