What is Russia's strategy in Idlib?
Russia is playing the long game with Turkey in the battle for the Syrian provence of Idlib.
MOSCOW — Russia blocked a UN Security Council draft statement on Idlib on Monday. The statement, jointly sponsored by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait, condemned the ongoing offensive on civilians and infrastructure in the northwestern Syrian city.
The statement read: “The members of the Security Council condemned the loss of innocent civilian lives, and expressed their alarm at the displacement of over 270,000 persons as a result of the recent escalation, as well as the targeting of densely populated areas and civilian infrastructure.”
Russia's UN mission responded on Twitter: “We don’t agree that the situation in the #NorthWest can be viewed separately from [the] situation in other regions.”
"Moreover, the draft document completely ignored the fact that Idlib is controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [HTS] terrorist group," the mission added, continuing, "We regret that our colleagues in the UN Security Council have chosen a biased approach to the developments in Syria. The so-called humanitarian 'troika' did not express concerns when the coalition illegally operating in Syria destroyed Khadjin or Baguz. The 'liberated' Raqqa still lies in ruins.”
