Russia Asks Turkey To Honor Commitments in Syria's Idlib.

According to Alexander Lavrentiev, a possible expansion of this mechanism will be discussed in December. 

Moscow is urging Ankara to honor all of its commitments regarding Syria's Idlib, Russian Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev said in an interview with TASS. 

By the way, regarding the fulfillment of the commitments, unfortunately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not say anything about the  implementation of the commitments of the Turkish side in relation to Idlib, where there are units of illegal armed groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (one banned in Russia terrorist organization) and the Syrian National Army have not retreated behind the M44 motorway. Therefore, we expect them to fulfill all  their obligations as well." he said.

Cross-Border Assistance Mechanism As for a possible expansion of the cross-border assistance mechanism in Syria, the Russian side will be guided by Syria's position on the matter, Lavrentiev noted. 

Unfortunately, we see that the commitments and guarantees given by Western nations related to the implementation of early reconstruction projects and the extension of humanitarian aid to the Syrian-controlled areas are stagnant and  at a low level. 

And that's why the extension is needed. Our position is well known, but we are also taking our bearings from the Syrian side in this matter.

If you are interested in maintaining this mechanism in  the current challenging environment, or  extending it for a period of time, we look forward to hearing from you. Of course, if they think it's no longer wanted, we'll block it. he said. 

According to the Russian diplomat, a possible extension of this mechanism is expected to be discussed in December. "We have some time.

We  discussed this topic with our Syrian friends and decided to come back to it in mid-December. I hope we will visit Damascus to talk about it," he continued. At the same time, he emphasized that Russia still believes that the mechanism has exceeded its usefulness and should be rejected. 

Finally, any aid must come through legal channels, not through the cross-border mechanism. It must come through the legitimate authorities via Damascus and then be distributed throughout Syrian territory.

Therefore, we attach great importance to  so-called cross-over operations, that is, from areas controlled by Damascus to areas it does not control, such as Idlib,” he stressed.