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Both the Russian Armed Forces and the country's advisers will "support the Syrian Arab Republic armed forces in their fight against terrorism," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing on February 17.

Referring to escalating terrorist attacks in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, he said that the Russian government "still regrets that these terrorists have revitalized in Idlib."

The statement follows US President Donald Trump's recent call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which Trump "expressed concern over the violence in Idlib." He also praised "Turkey's efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis" in the province, and hoped that Russia would stop supporting the Assad government, according to Deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere.

Tensions in the Idlib de-escalation zone have been steadily rising in recent weeks. On February 3, a Turkish armed convoy came under artillery fire, leaving five dead as a result. The tragedy occurred when the Syrian Army was conducting an operation against terrorists in the area, and was not notified of the convoy's movements, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ankara retaliated, firing on known Syrian Army positions, and sending additional troops into the de-escalation zone 10 days later. In response to the troop surge, Damascus officially recognized the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

Erdogan and Russia's President Vladimir Putin also discussed the situation on the ground in a phonecall last week. The two leaders agreed that the Sochi agreement on the Idlib de-escalation zone must be fully implemented.

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Democrat Betty McCollum from Minnesota accuses pro-Israel lobby of 'weaponizing anti-Semitism and hate to silence debate'

A Minnesota congresswoman called AIPAC a "hate group" inciting against her after the Israel lobby featured her in an attack ad.

"AIPAC claims to be a bipartisan organization, but its use of hate speech actually makes it a hate group," US Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat, said Wednesday in a statement. "By weaponizing anti-Semitism and hate to silence debate, AIPAC is taunting Democrats and mocking our core values."

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee declined to comment. The lobby removed and apologized last week for at least two Facebook ads that slammed "radical" Democrats in Congress, and altered an online petition that said Israel's harshest critics in Congress pose a threat "maybe more sinister" than ISIS and other terror groups.

"This is not a call to action, it is incitement," McCollum said. "Elected representatives in Congress 'more sinister' than ISIS? Last year, I met with AIPAC representatives from Minnesota in my office. Do forces 'more sinister' than ISIS sit down and meet with AIPAC's advocates?"

On Twitter, McCollum rejected what she called AIPAC's "non-apology." In its statement of apology, AIPAC said the ad was poorly worded" and "inflammatory," but also said it "alluded to a genuine concern of many pro-Israel Democrats about a small but growing group, in and out of Congress, that is deliberately working to erode the bipartisan consensus."

One of the ads was illustrated by a collage of three of Israel's toughest critics in Congress, including McCollum, who is the lead sponsor of a bill that would link Israel's assistance to its treatment of Palestinian juvenile detainees.

McCollum publicly rebuked AIPAC in 2006 after a lay leader of the group lashed out at her for backing funding for the Palestinians.

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