MOSCOW- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described militants in the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Idlib as a "festering abscess" that needed to be liquidated.

Calling them terrorists, Lavrov said they were using civilians as a human shield.

Speaking after talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Moscow, Lavrov also told reporters that there was a political understanding between Turkey and Russia on the need to distinguish between the Syrian opposition and people he described as terrorists in Idlib Province.

(Reporting by Polina Ivanova Writing by Tom Balmforth Editing by Andrew Osborn) ((Tom.Balmforth@thomsonreuters.com;))