The Kremlin said that Turkey's opening of an offensive against Syrian government troops in Idlib would be the "worst case scenario".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the worst case scenario would happen if the Turkish army attacked the Syrian government and legitimate armed forces in the Idlib border province.

However, Peskov said Moscow would not oppose Turkey's attack on "terrorist groups in Idlib" under existing agreements. "We are still in contact with Turkey," Peskov said.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to launch a military operation in Idlib province later this month if Damascus did not withdraw troops from areas where Turkish troops were stationed. "A military operation in Idlib province is imminent," Erdogan said yesterday in parliament.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that the talks between Russia and Turkey on Idlib had ended without reaching an agreement.

Russia and Turkey agreed in 2018 to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib province, northwestern Syria, and demand that Islamic militants withdraw from the buffer zone. However, Russia later confirmed that the terrorist groups continued to operate in the province.

With the support of the Russian air force, the Syrian army has launched an offensive campaign in Idlib province and neighboring Aleppo and Latakia provinces from December 2019.

Turkey has deployed about 5,000 troops and many tanks and armored vehicles to Idlib to prevent the advance of the Syrian government army, in the context of many Turkish military observation posts there are being soldiers. Syria surrounded.

Location Idlib province in northwest Syria. Graphics: NPR.

The Syrian army's offensive in Idlib has caused the largest migration wave in the history of the Syrian civil war, with 900,000 people displaced from December 2019, according to a UN report.