Diplomacy averts war in Idlib: Iran's FM

Tehran, Sept 18, IRNA – Iran's foreign minister Tuesday said that the diplomatic efforts toward the issue of the Syrian city of Idlib are bearing fruits with the looming war in the region having been averted. 'Intensive responsible diplomacy over the last few weeks-pursued in my visits to Ankara & Damascus, followed by the Iran-Russia-Turkey Summit in Tehran and the meeting is Sochi- is succeeding to avert war in Idlib with a firm commitment to fight extremist terror,' Mohammad-Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter account. 'Diplomacy works,' he emphasized. The Iranian foreign minister was referring to an agreement reached on September 17 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on suspension of a major military offensive against the terrorists in Idlib and creating a demilitarized zone by October 15. Being concerned over humanitarian crisis, Turkey, the home to more than three million Syrian refugees, has expressed opposition to any new offensive on the city out of fear of another exodus of refugees. Russia has been preparing for an assault on the three-million-people city in northwestern Syria as the last foothold of various terrorist and extremist groups. 9156**1397 Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish