Russia and its Syrian ally have escalated their campaign against insurgent-held Idlib at a time when the U.S. was preoccupied with threatening new wars against Iran and Venezuela.
With the United States threatening military action against Iran and Venezuela, Russia has escalated its campaign against militants in Syria.
Continuing violence between the Syrian government and militants in the last insurgent-held region of Idlib has steadily rocked a fragile truce there, but hostilities have surged since last week when Russia and Syrian forces—impatient with the continued presence of jihadi groups targeting nearby towns with shelling—launched what the U.K.
Though the U.S. has largely dropped its support for the remnants of the 2011 rebel and jihadi uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, President Donald Trump has warned the leader, as well as his Russian and Iranian allies, against pursuing an all-out offensive in Idlib. The northwestern province, now dominated by formerly Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was the last of its kind after the Syrian armed forces swept through other insurgent pockets across the south last year.
In a statement released Wednesday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini condemned"the recent escalation in northwestern Syria," accusing pro-government forces of"targeting schools and hospitals, including with the use of barrel bombs"—a makeshift, unguided aerial explosive that Assad has denied using.
"Everything in this world is interconnected," Russia's top diplomat said. "We hear regular U.S. statements about the need to end all Iranian influence not only in Syria, but also in the region. That it is unrealistic and does not have any chance of being considered a serious policy is obvious to everyone."
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