Turkish, Russian foreign ministers discuss escalation in Syria’s Homs

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on May 1. Two ministers have discussed recent developments in Syria and in the Homs region of the war-torn country, a Foreign Ministry official told Hürriyet Daily News on condition of anonymity. 

The Syrian regime and its ally Iran have stepped up attacks on rebel-held areas of the northern Homs province.

The regime, which has recently managed to seize eastern Ghouta—which was one of the opposition’s last strongholds on the capital’s outskirts—is now focusing on retaking opposition-held parts of Homs.

Under Russian mediation, a short-term cease-fire was declared in the area but it expired on April 22.

On April 29, regime forces launched several attacks on Homs—by ground and by air—while Iranian-backed forces carried out a simultaneous ground assault.

In peace talks in Astana in May 2017, Homs was declared a de-escalation zone by the guarantor states Turkey, Russia and Iran.

Roughly 250,000 people living in a 592-square kilometer (229-square mile) area have remained under a blockade imposed by the Syrian regime for five years.