Zarif: We must minimize human cost of cleansing Idlib province

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon in the Iranian parliament (Majlis), Zarif said he had some very useful discussions with senior Syrian officials in his recent trip to Damascus. Zarif said the discussions were good vis-a-vis bilateral ties and other issues.

He added: "Since conditions in Idlib province are very sensitive, we must minimize the human cost ( loss of life ) of expelling terrorists from the province."

In further remarks, Zarif said "By Friday, God willing, our discussions with nations of the Astana process would be finalized and the expulsion of terrorists from Idlib province should be carried out in a such a way as to cause minimum damage to the Syrian people, and result in minimum loss of life."

It is worth noting that Idlib province is the last stronghold of terrorists in Syria, and if terrorists are expelled from this province, the war in Syria would be effectively over, and president Bashar al-Assad and his government would have clinched a remarkable victory against US-trained and US-armed terrorists.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions have been driven from their homes since the conflict began in March 2011, and the infrastructure of the country destroyed.

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