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Conflict in Syria

Russian diplomat vows terrorist schemes to derail Idlib agreement bound to fail

Astana talks wrapped up on Thursday with the adoption of a joint statement by the guarantor states

© Ugur Can/DHA via AP

MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. Plans of terrorists in Syria to undermine cooperation in the Astana format and derail agreements on Idlib are futile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.

"Despite the efforts made by Turkey as part of the implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum of September 17, the situation there [in Idlib] is explosive. Terrorists are doing their best to derail the implementation of measures to delimitate the so-called moderate forces and create a demilitarized zone. The scale of provocations carried out by them is unfortunately growing," she said.

CONFLICT IN SYRIA

Zakharova reiterated that on November 24 militants of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia) carried out a mortar attack on Aleppo’s residential quarters with shells and chlorine, injuring more than 100 people.

"This work was conducted before to provoke the US-led coalition to carry out massive strikes on the government forces, but now, as we can see, the goal is different: to derail the implementation of the specified Russian-Turkish memorandum and destabilize cooperation in the Astana format, in particular between Russia and Turkey," the diplomat stressed. "Another meeting on Syria in Astana showed that such plans of terrorists are futile."

The international meeting on Syria in Astana ended on Thursday with the adoption of the joint statement of the guarantor states (Russia, Iran and Turkey). In particular, the document confirms the readiness to fully implement the Memorandum on stabilization in Idlib and apply further efforts to launch the Syrian constitutional committee.

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Syrian conflict Maria Zakharova

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