Are Russia, Turkey entering last act of Idlib fight?
Following the Russia-brokered Syria-Turkey talks in Moscow, hostilities over Idlib may be turning to their last phase, but it's unlikely to be peaceful.
On Jan. 27, a Russian delegation composed of President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and unnamed high-level military officials visited Damascus for talks with President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Both events focused on the situation in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, where government forces on Jan. 26 reached the outskirts of Maaret al-Numan, a town controlled by the opposition. It is a strategic settlement that a major highway linking Damascus to Aleppo passes through. The Syrian army also reportedly wrestled control of 22 towns. The offensive was backed by Russian airstrikes that the Turkish side views as a violation of the cease-fire mediated between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Jan. 12.
