Russia's push to erode humanitarian conditions in Syria's Idlib province could trigger retaliatory attacks from Turkish forces and local militant groups, raising the risk of another major Russo-Turkish military confrontation and a new refugee surge into Turkey. Since the beginning of the year, Russia has been squeezing humanitarian corridors that lead into the still rebel-held province, which hosts around 2 million internally displaced Syrians. In February 2021, Russian warplanes struck logistics centers associated with the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border, where U.N.-authorized humanitarian aid flows into Idlib. Then, through the spring, Moscow signaled it might block the re-authorization of the crucial crossing, which is the only one still operating under a 2014 U.N. mandate that allows aid through Turkey. On July 9, Russia voted to re-authorize the Bab al-Hawa post, but only under the condition that it remain the sole crossing and would be subject to greater scrutiny....
