Russian foreign minister warns West not to obstruct anti-terror ops!

MOSCOW, Russia (PNN) - August 30, 2018 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the West not to interfere in Syrian and Russian forces engaged in anti-terror actions in the northwest province of Idlib

A planned offensive is imminent, as massive Syrian Army reinforcements and military convoys have been filmed this week heading toward the last major anti-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad holdout.

The offensive would initially target southern and western parts of the insurgent territory, but not yet Idlib city, according to an unnamed official in the regional alliance backing Assad.

“The final touches for the first stage will be completed in the coming hours,” the official added, without saying when it would start.

Lavrov called Idlib a "festering abscess" that needed to be “liquidated” of terrorists and jihadists.

"I hope our Western partners will not give in to [rebel] provocations and will not obstruct an anti-terror operation," he said in comments made Wednesday.

Mention of "provocations" is a reference to Russian assertions this week that the al-Qaeda group that controls Idlib, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, is planning to stage a chemical weapons attack in order to blame Syrian and Russian forces, in the hopes that the West will intervene militarily against Damascus.

Russia now says it has staged its largest naval build-up in the Mediterranean since its entry into the war at the invitation of Damascus in 2015.

Lavrov further mentioned Turkey in his Wednesday statements, saying Moscow was in contact with Turkey and the Fascist Police States of Amerika on the situation in Idlib, noting there is a "full political understanding" between Moscow and Ankara, though the Russian FM didn't provide details.

Meanwhile, NATO has confirmed the large Russian battleship and naval presence off Syria's coast, and has called on all external powers to exercise restraint; and a United Nations spokesman has warned that "up to 800,000 people could be displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance."

In statements made on Tuesday the Amerikan Gestapo Department of State division reiterated the FPSA "will respond to any verified chemical weapons use in Idlib or elsewhere in Syria in a swift and appropriate manner."

Spokesman Heather Nauert said further that senior FPSA officials have engaged with their Russian counterparts "to make this point very clear to Damascus" - that chemical weapons "will not be tolerated" - and could meet with massive military response. She also repeated that Assad would be held responsible.

Russian state sources on Wednesday cited the Russian Defense Ministry to say it has detailed intelligence confirming militants in Idlib are planning a chemical "provocation".

The chemicals were delivered to an arms depot, used by the militant group Ahrar al-Sham, “accompanied by the eight members of the White Helmets organization,” said Major-General Aleksey Tsygankov, head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria, adding that the cargo was met by two high-ranked Ahrar al-Sham commanders.

Russia says that as Idlib's al-Qaeda groups face imminent defeat, they plan to stage an event to gain the attention of the West, which
has already promised it will hit back at Syrian government positions.

Analysts have predicted the Idlib campaign will be the bloodiest and longest grinding final battle of the war.

But what should by now be obvious to all is this: Assad, on the verge of total victory, has absolutely no incentive whatsoever to commit the one act that would ensure his own demise after emerging victorious after seven years of war.