'Military solution in Idlib would be a disaster' — Cavusoglu

Turkey and Russia need to continue working together to continue the ceasefire in Syria, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, warning that a possible military solution in the northwestern city of Idlib would be a "disaster."

Speaking to reporters in Moscow alongside his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Cavusoglu 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, Cavusoglu 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."

Located near the Turkish border, Idlib was designated a “de-escalation zone” this May 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.

Geneva talks

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura invited Iran, Russia and Turkey to talks on Syria’s Constitutional Committee, to be held in Geneva on Sept. 11-12, a UN spokeswoman said on Friday. 

The talks on forming a committee to draw up a new constitution for Syria are expected to be followed by parallel UN talks involving countries including the United States, but she had no date for those.