‘With War or With Peace’: Damascus Vows to Regain Control of Idlib and Whole Syria

Syrian government forces will regain control over the whole of the country’s territory, including the Idlib de-escalation zone, through peaceful means or war, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Tuesday.

“The same way we won back every piece of land in Syria we will secure victory in Idlib. Our message is clear to all concerned in the matter — we will go to Idlib whether with war or with peace. But, we prefer to go the Syrians in Idlib with peace. Those who count on Americans should understand very clearly that the Syrian army will go to all Syrian territories and will establish there control and authority of the Syrian state,” Mekdad said, as quoted by the newspaper al-Watan.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting in the Russian city of Sochi and agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Idlib along the contact line of the armed opposition and government forces by October 15.

Territories in the northeast of Syria are controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States.

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