Lavrov Says Idlib’s ‘Festering Abscess Needs to be Liquidated’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, welcomes Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, welcomes Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Lavrov Says Idlib’s ‘Festering Abscess Needs to be Liquidated’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, welcomes Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, welcomes Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described militants in Syria's Idlib province as a "festering abscess" that needed to be liquidated.

Speaking after talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in Moscow, Lavrov said militants were also using civilians as a human shield.

"This is the last hotbed of terrorists who are trying to speculate on the region's status as a de-escalation zone, who are trying to hold the civilian population hostage as human shields and bend to their will those armed groups ready to engage in dialogue with the government," Lavrov said.

"So from all points of view, this festering abscess needs to be liquidated," he said.

As for Jubeir, he said discussions with Lavrov covered Syria and the importance of implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 and reaching a political solution that would maintain the country’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of foreign militias and ensuring the rights of the people.

He said Saudi Arabia believed the Iran nuclear deal with world powers was weak, “particularly with regard to the time period that prevents Iran from enriching uranium.”

Jubeir also said that he supported more sanctions being imposed on Iran.

Addressing the conflict in Yemen, the Saudi minister stressed that the political solution there should be based on the three references - the Gulf initiative, national dialogue outcomes and Security Council Resolution 2216.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.