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It’s Turkey’s responsibility to de-escalate violence in Idlib, says Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) attend a press conference after meeting in Tehran on September 7, 2018. AFP PHOTO / SPUTNIK / Mikhail KLIMENTYEV

The Kremlin said on Friday it was Turkey’s responsibility to stop rebels in Syria’s Idlib province from firing on civilian and Russian targets, signaling it would continue to back a Syrian government offensive there despite Ankara’s protests, Reuters reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, late on Thursday that he wanted a ceasefire in Idlib to prevent more civilian deaths and a refugee influx to Turkey.

Erdoğan also told Putin by phone that Syria needed a political solution, Erdoğan’s office said in a statement.

The Turkish leader has repeatedly complained to Moscow about a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive in the rebel-held northwest, the most serious escalation of the war between President Bashar al-Assad and his enemies since last summer.

The fighting has uprooted around 250,000 people in the territory, the last significant rebel stronghold and one that borders Turkey.

The Kremlin made clear on Friday, however, that it was for now unmoved by Erdoğan’s calls for a ceasefire, saying the rebels were the ones who had to implement a ceasefire in the first instance.

“We really do need a ceasefire in Idlib, and what needs to be achieved is for the terrorists to stop firing on civilian targets and on certain facilities where our troops are located,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Erdogan’s request for a ceasefire.

“… This is the responsibility of the Turkish side.”

Russia has complained of rocket and drone attacks against its main Hmeymim airbase being launched from Idlib, something Peskov described as “a highly dangerous tendency.”

He made no mention of the idea that Syrian government troops, backed by Russian air power, should stop fighting, however, but denied Moscow and Ankara disagreed over Idlib.

Moscow, one of the Syrian government’s staunchest allies, and Turkey brokered a deal in September to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib that would be free of all heavy weapons and jihadist fighters.

But Moscow, which is keen to help Assad retake territory, has since complained about escalating violence in the area and said that militants who used to belong to the Nusra Front group are in control of large swaths of territory.

According to AFP, at least 950 people, almost a third of them civilians, were killed in armed conflict in Idlib last month.

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