The divides have narrowed considerably, he said, adding that the Americans and the Russians now seem to see eye-to-eye on restructuring the political system by drafting a new constitution and holding early elections. “This information does not correspond to reality”, said the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova.
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On Tuesday, US Air Force General Herbert Carlisle said communications with Russian Federation have vastly improved since the start of Moscow’s bombing campaign, with twice-daily talks and a hotline set up.
A member of the National Coalition criticised the process as serving regional interests over those of the Syrian people.
“How can we bring peace to a country that went through a vicious civil war in which 250,000-300,000 people died without removing the cause of that civil war?”
The official alleged the opposition also helped Russian planes target weapons depots belonging to Syria’s al-Qaeda wing, Nusra Front, by providing data on its coordinates near the Homs province village of Mheen.
Concerned with the safety of its citizens, Russia has since cancelled all flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh, but the Russian government has not backed down from its commitment to help Assad regain the initiative on the battlefield. They believe that at first it is necessary to overthrow the country’s president, and only then deal with this terrorist organization. “Assad’s atrocities – barrel bombs, gravity bombs, artillery and missiles directed against civilian residential neighborhoods – do three things: kill and stampede lots of people; create recruits for ISIS; and prevent any possibility of dialogue and negotiation between Syrians”.
Russian Federation and Iran have been Assad’s top allies during Syria’s almost five-year war. The administration, as it has with many other locally supported rebel groups, does not consider it part of the “moderate” opposition eligible to participate in transition plans. The Syrian parliament’s four-year term is due to expire next May.
“That just isn’t enough”, said the Security Council diplomat, who asked not to be identified. “The eight-point plan itself is not central to the discussions in Vienna but Russian Federation is”, he said.
Smoke rises after what activists said was an airstrike conducted by the United States and its allies targeting positions controlled by Islamic State fighters near al-Hawl area where fighting between rebel fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria and Islamic State fighters are taking place in the south-eastern city of Hasaka, Syria November 10, 2015. USA officials from Obama on down have said since the beginning of Russia’s air campaign in Syria in late September that Moscow is making a “mistake” that will make the situation worse. He added that parliamentary elections are an internal Syrian affair and that it was too early to hold them.
At peace talks in Vienna last week, the United States was understood to have offered tentative support for an agreement under which Mr Assad stays in power for 18 months, providing Moscow offered guarantees that he would not stand for political office again at the end.
– Agreeing that the popularly elected president will be commander-in-chief of the armed forces and have “control of special services and foreign policy”.
Al Jazeera reports that in the wake of several defeats, IS is now dispatching reinforcements from Raqqa towards Aleppo to battle against the Syrian advance. “We need to be synchronized”, he said in an interview with television channel Euronews.
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Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said his country’s participation depended on American answers “regarding a few unilateral actions taken by a few of the sides” attending the talks “without consulting others”, the Beirut-based al-Mayadeen TV reported.
