The situation in Syria’s Idlib province, where Russia and Turkey have tried to create a de-escalation zone, is rapidly deteriorating, Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The territory is now almost under full control of Nusra militants, she said.
“Continuing provocations pose a threat to civilians, Syrian military personnel and the Russian Khmeymim air base,” Interfax citing Zakharova as saying.
Zakharova on Jan. 11 said Russia remained committed to an agreement it had struck with Turkey to stabilize a de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib province but said Moscow was worried by an increase in the number of ceasefire violations there.
Syrian government ally Russia and Turkey, which backs Syrian rebels, agreed in September of last year to create a demilitarized zone around the last rebel-held enclave of Idlib.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday flew to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.