The deadline given to Syria’s ‘moderates’ to back away from Jabhet al-Nusra will expire this week , Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today.

Last Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense decided to give the rebel forces one last warning to distance themselves from Jabhat Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda Syrian branch) before they resume their airstrikes.

Russian fighter jets have been targeting armed groups that did not abide with the ceasefire and those excluded from the original deal.

Russian airstrikes proved pivotal in shoring up Syrian ground troops to recapture more territories from radical militants across the war-torn country.