Ankara failed to fulfil ‘key commitments’ in Syria’s Idlib, says Lavrov

Turkey has failed to fulfil several key commitments within the framework of the agreement it reached with Russia over Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

The Russian foreign minister called on Ankara to "abide strictly" by the agreements reached by presidents of the two countries in Sochi, Russian TASS news agency reported.

"Unfortunately, at this stage, the Turkish side could not meet some of the commitments aimed at resolving the problem in Idlib radically," it quoted the Russian minister as saying during a meeting with the editors of Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

In a 2018 deal with Russia, Turkey agreed to establish a demilitarised zone in Syria's last rebel enclave and a crackdown on jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in return for staving off a destructive Syrian regime offensive into the province, which would likely have resulted in millions more Syrians fleeing into Turkey itself. 

"The second aspect connected with risks and threats originating from the Idlib de-escalation zone, involves moving hundreds of militants, including Nusra and ‘Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’ members, to Libya, for taking part in escalation of fighting in that country," Lavrov added.

Lavrov’s statements arrive a day after Russia-backed Syrian government shelling in the last rebel-held province of Idlib killed eight Turkish personnel in Idlib province, sparking retaliation from Turkey. Turkey retaliated by pounding Syrian government targets on Monday, with the Turkish Defence Ministry reporting that it had killed 76 Syrian soldiers.

The Syrian government and Russia began strikes on targets in Idlib again in April 2019, saying the continued presence of jihadist groups in Idlib was a breach of the 2018 agreement.