Iran summit seeks to avert a bloodbath in northwestern Syria

BEIRUT: When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet Friday in Tehran, all eyes will be on their diplomacy reaching a last-minute deal to avert a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria’s crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold.
The three leaders, whose nations are all under US sanctions, have an interest in working together to contain a potentially catastrophic offensive by President Bashar Assad’s forces to recapture the province, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground when it comes to Syria.
The province and surrounding area is home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria — but also an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including Al-Qaeda-linked militants.