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Russia shares UN’s calls for humanitarian assistance to Idlib’s population - diplomat

Maria Zakharova recalled that UN humanitarian coordinators has condemned the recent plunder of Red Crescent offices in Idlib and detention of their employees

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. Russia support the United Nations’ calls for ensuring unimpeded assistance to people living in Syria’s Idlib, the ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

She recalled that UN humanitarian coordinators has condemned the recent plunder of Red Crescent offices in Idlib and detention of their employees. "They [coordinators] described such actions as inadmissible violations of international humanitarian law," she noted. "We share their call for ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians in the Idlib de-escalation zone who are now hostages to terrorists’ arbitrariness."

"In this context, we hope the Turkish partners will continue efforts to separate moderate opposition from extremists and will take measures to neutralize the latter," she went on to say. "It should be noted that changing the name of a terrorist group in no way means a change in its essence. It is still terrorist. We should have no illusions that there can be any internationally-recognized terrorists, whatever they might call themselves."

Touching on the efforts of Russian and Turkish military towards the establishment of a "security corridor" along the M4 highway in northwestern Syria and resume traffic along it, as well as joint patrolling of this section of the highway in the Idlib de-escalation zone, Zakharova noted that "radical groups operating along the M4 road are seeking to hamper the work of the Russian and Turkish military, staging provocations, heaping debris, removing the roadbed." "It is yet another proof that Idlib is a domain for not moderate opposition as some Western capitals seek to picture them but for real terrorists set for violence and bloodshed," she added.