Defense Minister Shoigu says Russia, Assad regime won't take military action against Idlib

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said late Monday that Russia and Assad regime will not take any military action against Idlib.

Speaking after the Sochi summit between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Shoigu said that a consensus will be reached in a couple of hours between Russia and the Assad regime on stopping the airstrikes.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the Russian leader's presidential residence on Monday in the coastal city of Sochi in a bid to find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis around Syria's opposition-held Idlib.

Erdoğan and Putin's meeting was their second in just 10 days after Russia and Iran expressed support for the idea of an offensive on Idlib.

The province of Idlib in northwestern Syria is the largest bastion of the opposition, and Turkey has been eager to prevent a potential regime offensive there.

Russia calls Idlib a hotbed of terrorism and says the Syrian government has the right to retake control of it. Turkey has appealed to Russia and Iran for a diplomatic resolution to the ticking bomb. At the same time, it has sent reinforcements to its troops ringing Idlib, a move designed to ward off a ground assault, at least for now.

Idlib and surrounding areas is home to over 3 million Syrians, and an estimated 60,000 opposition fighters.