This shoddy Idlib ceasefire won’t end the war – or the suffering of Syrians
This deal stitched up between Russia and Turkey reinforces Putin’s grip and Erdoğan’s position as Moscow’s man in Nato
The ceasefire in Idlib is, like many previous Syrian truces, unlikely to hold. It will not stop the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced and terrified people who remain cut off from adequate humanitarian relief and medical aid. It will not solve the refugee crisis on Europe’s borders, nor will it bring justice to victims of numerous atrocious war crimes.
This shoddy backroom deal, a stitch-up between the authoritarian leaders of Russia and Turkey, does not end the war. It does not affect the Syrian regime’s determination to retake control of “every inch” of the last rebel-held province, by whatever means. This bloody denouement has merely been postponed.