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Syrian army in Idlib fights terrorism on its territory, Kremlin says

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted a rise in tensions in the Idlib de-escalation zone

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The Syrian government army in Idlib is fighting terrorism on its territory, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

When asked about Kremlin’s attitude towards the potential involvement of the US in the situation in Idlib, he said that so far, it is too early to talk about direct involvement of the US in this conflict.

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Russia cannot just sit and wait for further developments in Syria's Idlib — diplomat

"In any case, we are not talking about a conflict here; we are talking about adhering to the Sochi agreements and the obligations taken on by the sides in accordance with this document. First and foremost, the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic are fighting terrorism on the territory of their country," Peskov stressed.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted a rise in tensions in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the past few weeks. The Russian and Turkish military made another attempt to establish a ceasefire, however, terrorist attacks persisted. As a result, military specialists from Russia and Turkey were killed.

On February 5, Syrian government forces entered the town of Saraqib, an outpost of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (banned in Russia) in the Idlib province. Saraqib is a town of strategic importance that sits at the junction of two main roads connecting Latakia and Damascus with Aleppo.

Idlib is the only Syrian region that has been controlled by illegal armed groups since 2012. A northern de-escalation zone was set up in Idlib in 2017 to give shelter to militants who refused to surrender arms in Eastern Ghouta and Syria’s southern regions. The Turkish army has 12 observation outposts in the province.

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