Kremlin rebuffs Trump on Syria, says military action in Idlib is justified

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Monday rebuffed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump of Russian and Syrian government military action in Syria's Idlib province, saying it was justified.

Trump on Sunday urged Russia and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Idlib, following a Friday Kremlin statement that signalled Moscow would continue to back a month-long Syrian government offensive there.

When asked about Trump's criticism on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that militants were using Idlib as a base to launch attacks against civilian and military targets, something he called unacceptable.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)