Russia's President Vladimir Putin called Saturday for continuing the fight against terrorism, however, he noted that launching a full-scale assault on militants in Syria’s Idlib province was unpractical for now.
Putin said the presence of civilians in parts of Idlib where militants were also active meant the time was not yet ripe for full-scale military operations, Reuters reported.
“I don’t rule it (a full-scale assault) out, but right now we and our Syrian friends consider that to be inadvisable given this humanitarian element,” Putin stated.
Russia and Turkey brokered a deal in September 2018 to create a demilitarized zone in the northwest Idlib region that would be free of all heavy weapons and militants.
According to Reuters, Ankara is concerned about potential refugee flows from Idlib in the event of a military operation, and wants to retain its influence there.
