Regime attacks moderate opposition in Idlib under cover of fight against al-Nusra: Turkish FM

Syrian regime forces are attacking moderate Syrian opposition members under the cover of the struggle against the al-Nusra group, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 9, commenting on the Syrian army’s Idlib push.

“This attitude will harm the process for political solution,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters.

He said the Syrian government should refrain from attacking its negotiation partners “who it will meet in the Sochi meeting,” referring to prospective peace talks.

The Syrian government stepped up its offensive on key opposition-held areas as Syrian regime forces and allied militias advance on the largest rebel-held territory in Idlib. The regime’s move intensified ahead of a notional dialogue meeting at the end of January in Sochi, a Black Sea resort town in Russia.

Idlib is one of the “de-escalation zones” set up in 2017 with the backing of three guarantor states: Russia, Iran and Turkey.