Date: Aug 31, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Moallem says Syria will go all the way in rebel-held Idlib MOSCOW/BEIRUT: Syria’s foreign minister said government forces will “go all the way” in the rebel-held northern region of Idlib and that Damascus’s main targets were Nusra Front militants. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaking after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, also said Syria would not use chemical weapons in any offensive and did not have such weapons. Western aggression, he added, would not prevent Damascus from retaking all Syrian territory. “A tripartite aggression or not, it will not influence our determination to liberate the entire Syrian territory,” he said, referring to Washington, Paris and London. Government forces have been massing around Idlib – Syria’s only remaining rebel-held province – for days and looked poised to launch what could be the last major battle of the civil war that has torn the country apart since 2011. Last week, the United States, France and Britain threatened to respond if Syrian President Bashar Assad uses chemical weapons in its offensive to retake Idlib province. Moallem said the government’s main target was fighters belonging to the Nusra Front militants. “The Syrian command has taken a decision to defeat the Nusra Front in Idlib no matter the sacrifices that it would entail,” Moallem said in Arabic, referring to the former Syrian affiliate of Al-Qaeda. He insisted, however, the authorities wanted to win back territory through reconciliation agreements. “We are ready to make every effort to avoid victims among the civilians,” he added. Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, also warned Washington against what he called “groundless and illegal aggression against Syria.” Antonov said he had told U.S. officials Moscow was concerned by signs that the United States was preparing new strikes on Syria. Meanwhile, Turkey held last-ditch talks with extremist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an activist group said. “The negotiations between Turkey and HTS are still under way,” the head of the Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said. In comments published on its propaganda agency Ibaa, HTS appeared to leave the door open to a negotiated settlement. “The issue of the disbanding – should it ever take place – is one that would be discussed internally by the alliance’s consultative council but not dictated by local or foreign parties,” it said. “We in HTS are striving to find an effective solution in the liberated Syrian north that would protect our people from a possible offensive by the criminal regime and its allies.” Turkey actively sponsors rebel forces in Idlib and recently spearheaded the formation of the National Front for Liberation, a coalition of over a dozen rebel factions in Idlib. HTS has so far refused to join. The United Nations has called on Russia, Iran and Turkey to delay a battle that could affect millions of civilians. U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters that there was a high concentration of foreign fighters in Idlib, including an estimated 10,000 terrorists, but it would be better to set up humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians than rush into a battle which could turn prove to be a “perfect storm.” De Mistura proposed that civilians could evacuate to government areas. “Short of going to Turkey, the civilians have no other option in order not to be where fighting may take place,” de Mistura told reporters of the evacuation plan, which is in its early phases and will need to be discussed with regional players. Russia expressed openness to the idea. De Mistura said a proposal would be a “temporary” measure so that “people can then return to their own places untouched once this is over.” Ahmad Ramadan, a spokesman for the Syrian opposition’s delegation to U.N. talks with the government, called de Mistura’s proposal “unrealistic.” “It’s very regrettable,” he said. “The special envoy’s role is not to call for a humanitarian corridor, but to call on Russia to stop the aggression.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies that Moscow is willing to discuss “the details, the general idea and what practical solutions there are.” It came shortly after Russia’s Defense Ministry told Russian news agencies that Russia will deploy 25 ships, including a missile cruiser, and 30 jets for the maneuvers in the first week of September. The military says the drills will focus on anti-air and anti-submarine defense. The drills were announced after NATO reported a Russian naval buildup in the Mediterranean. The Kremlin said the buildup was justified by a failure to deal with militants in Syria’s Idlib province. “This hotbed of terrorists [in Idlib] does really not bode anything good if such inaction continues,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “The situation in Syria has a significant potential to become more complicated and the situation around Idlib leaves a lot to be desired,” he said after the announcement of the naval drills, which appeared aimed at deterring the West from carrying out strikes on Syrian government forces. with Agencies