US envoy presses Russia to halt Syrian offensive on Idlib

Laura Rozen

Feb 5, 2020

A Syrian man rides his motorcycle past a damaged building following an air strike by pro-regime forces on the rebel-held town of Ariha in the northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on February 5, 2020. - Syrian regime forces pressed on with their offensive in the northwest that has displaced half a million people, despite heightened tensions with Turkey.
Intensive aerial bombardment and ground fighting in the jihadist-dominated Idlib region since December have killed almost 300 civilians and trigger — A Syrian man rides his motorcycle past a damaged building following an airstrike by pro-regime forces on the rebel-held town of Ariha in the northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on Feb. 5, 2020. — OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

A top US envoy today pressed Russia to get the Syrian regime to halt a military offensive into the northwestern Syrian enclave of Idlib that has driven some half a million people to flee their homes since December.

“Russia needs to change its policies,” US Syria envoy James Jeffrey told journalists at the State Department today.

“We are very worried about this,” Jeffrey said. “We have seen not just the Russians, but the Iranians and Hezbollah actively supporting this offensive.”

The US administration is not sure if the Syrian regime offensive is intended just to go to the M4 road, or beyond, he added.

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US envoy presses Russia to halt Syrian offensive on Idlib

A top US envoy today pressed Russia to get the Syrian regime to halt a military offensive into the northwestern Syrian enclave of Idlib that has driven some half a million people to flee their homes since December.

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