Kremlin dismisses Trump warning on Syria's Idlib

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02:22

The Kremlin dismissed US President Donald Trump's warning to Syria not to launch an offensive in the rebel-held enclave of Idlib, saying on Tuesday that the area was a "nest of terrorism."

Trump on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to "recklessly attack" the northwestern Syrian province, saying hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.

US President Donald Trump's Twitter screenshot. /CGTN Photo

"Just to speak out with some warnings, without taking into account the very dangerous, negative potential for the whole situation in Syria, is probably not a full, comprehensive approach," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The presence of militants in Idlib was undermining the Syrian peace process and making the region a base for attacks on Russian forces in Syria, Peskov added.

"A fairly large group of terrorists has settled there and of course this leads to a general destabilization of the situation. It undermines attempts to bring the situation onto the track of a political-diplomatic settlement," he said.

"We know that Syria's armed forces are preparing to resolve this problem," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov (C) and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) speak before their meeting with the German Chancellor in Sochi on May 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

Russia resumed air strikes against insurgents in Idlib province on Tuesday after a hiatus of several weeks, according to a Syrian rebel and a war monitor.

The situation around Idlib will be one of the main items on the agenda when the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey meet in Tehran this week, Peskov told reporters on a conference call, declining to elaborate further.

Why Idlib?

Idlib is now in a state of severe lawlessness characterized by assassinations, explosions, and infighting.

Syrian rebel fighters from the recently-formed "National Liberation Front" receive military training at an unknown location in the northern countryside of the Idlib province on September 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

In recent months, the Syrian army captured several towns in the southern countryside of Idlib with hundreds of people starting to return to those areas.

The major rebel group in Idlib is the LLC, which has vowed not to surrender and will fight against any anticipated Syrian attack.

For the Syrian army, securing Idlib could almost seal a definite victory against a seven-year-long insurgency targeting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, Idlib is of strategic significance as it shares a border area with Turkey to the north, and neighbors the coastal province of Latakia, hometown of Assad.

Notably, the namesake capital city of Idlib lies close to the international road linking the capital Damascus with the northern province of Aleppo.

Idlib is home to around 2.5 million people, including those evacuated after the surrender of rebels in other Syrian areas.

There are no precise figures on fighters among the 2.5 million, but some estimates say the number ranges from 40,000 to 50,000.

Syrian rebel fighters prepare for an upcoming offensive by government forces, in the countryside of the rebel-held northern Idlib province on September 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

In fact, not all rebels in Idlib are ready to fight as many of them hope to reconcile with the government, despite rejection from the Nusra Front and its allies.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency