Russia says militants in Syria's Idlib province need liquidating

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described militants in the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Idlib as a “festering abscess” that needed to be liquidated.

Calling them terrorists, Lavrov said they were using civilians as a human shield.

Speaking after talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Moscow, Lavrov also told reporters that there was a political understanding between Turkey and Russia on the need to distinguish between the Syrian opposition and people he described as terrorists in Idlib Province.

Read: US warns Syria, Russia on possible Idlib offensive