Turkey warns against Assad regime offensive on Syria's Idlib

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has warned against a possible Assad regime offensive on the last remaining opposition stronghold.

Çavuşoğlu, who was in Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, said that Russia and Turkey should work to separate opposition groups from "terrorists" in the northwestern province of Idlib. He warned against an offensive there, saying that it will cause a "humanitarian catastrophe."

Speaking to reporters in Moscow alongside his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Çavuşoğlu said: "Preserving the de-escalation zone in Idlib, Syria is important in both humanitarian respects and the fight against terrorism."

Stressing that more than 3 million civilians live in Idlib, he said: "A military solution there would be a disaster. It would be a disaster not only for the Idlib region, but also for the future of Syria."

Lavrov, however, indicated that Moscow is losing patience with the militants, who often target government positions from there.

Russia is a key backer of Bashar Assad, while Turkey supports some of the opposition groups along its border with Syria. Turkey, Russia and Iran have mediated cease-fire deals in several areas in Syria, including Idlib.

Located near the Turkish border, this May Idlib was designated a "de-escalation zone" where acts of aggression are expressly forbidden.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.

UN officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.