Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the American intention to form a zone that is controlled by U.S.-backed rebels could lead to the partition of Syria. Minister Lavrov said, “The announcement that this zone will be controlled by U.S.-backed groups – by a force of up to 30,000 people – this is a very serious issue, which causes concerns that a course was set for the partition of Syria,” the Russian top diplomat warned.
Minister Lavrov also took the opportunity to accuse Washington of distancing itself from assisting in resolving the conflict in Syria; rather taking concrete steps to change the regime in the war-torn-country. With regard to the Turkish demand of Moscow to intervene in Idlib province, the Russian top diplomat said that following extensive conversations between President Putin and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, Ankara vowed to speed up its responsibility of setting up observation points that would help stabilize the situation in the conflict-ridden province and prevent any breakdowns of de-escalation agreements.