MOSCOW — On Aug. 30, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem came to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. In recent weeks, political clouds over Syria have been piling up. These include President Bashar al-Assad's apparent preparations for a phased offensive on Idlib; that Russia and Turkey have been actively engaging behind the scenes to work the crisis out; that the United States has warned Damascus of grave consequences over a possible use of chemical weapons; and that both Russian and American militaries are beefing up their military presence in the Mediterranean.

The day before the Muallem visit to Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov had a phone discussion with Syrian opposition leader Nasra al-Hariri to discuss possible options for a peace settlement in Syria. The conversation is part of an effort by Moscow to establish a dialogue line between Damascus and what Russia sees as “constructive opposition.”

Russia’s real single biggest concern amid the ongoing developments was expressed earlier at Lavrov’s meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

"I hope our Western partners will not give in to (rebel) provocations and will not obstruct an anti-terror operation" in Idlib,” Lavrov said.