Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says capturing Idlib carries serious risk, would be disastrous
Turkey has conveyed to Russia its condemnation of the recent attack in Syria's Idlib, the Turkish foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"After the attack, our institutions [Turkish and Russian] contacted each other. We told them that this is wrong," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, speaking at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas.
Çavuşoğlu said the attacks are aimed at "capturing Idlib", which he said, "carries a serious risk" and "would be disastrous from many angles".
Russian warplanes on Tuesday pounded civilian and opposition targets in Idlib.
Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled from other cities following attacks by regime forces.
The Syrian regime has recently announced plans to launch a major military offensive to the area, which is controlled by various armed opposition groups.
On Tuesday, the UN’s humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock warned that such an offensive would lead to the "worst humanitarian catastrophe in the 21st century".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are scheduled to meet in Tehran on Friday for a trilateral summit on Syria.
