While Moscow has promised to bring “new ideas” for kick-starting the peace process to Munich, Russia and Iran are adamant the rebels in Aleppo are just as much “terrorists” as IS and there can be no settlement until they have been militarily defeated.
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However, unless Russian Federation ends its strikes on Western-backed Syrian opposition forces, the ceasefire reached in Munich will not hold and humanitarian access will not be effectively secured, Cavusoglu told TRT in comments broadcast from Munich.
A senior Russian diplomat says Moscow opposes plans to establish a “safe zone” along the Turkey-Syria border.
Canada said Monday it will quit conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq by February 22 but will expand its contributions to training Kurdish and other local forces and provide more humanitarian and developmental aid. The U.S. has countered with a demand for an immediate truce.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Germany Wednesday, had talks planned late in the evening with United Nations peace envoy Staffan de Mistura and Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Syria’s rebel groups. Erdogan warned that Turkey could “open the gates” for refugees into Europe if it did not receive enough help.
The ministry vehemently denied accusations that civilians had been targeted in the strikes, saying that “Russian aviation and Syrian government forces will never launch strikes on the civilian population”.
The spokesman also turned the tables on the U.S. over allegations that two hospitals had been targeted in Russian airstrikes in Aleppo.
Syria’s Kurds have been among the most effective forces battling the Islamic State group, but have remained largely neutral in the conflict between President Bashar Assad and the rebels fighting to overthrow him. American officials have blamed increased Russian airstrikes on the faltering talks with Assad’s troops gaining ground around the strategic city of Aleppo.
This allowed them to rupture a main rebel supply line between the border and portions of the city of Aleppo which insurgents control.
He said Syrian people needed to see progress in areas including the implementation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for a cease-fire and talks on a political transition.
Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.
“Only, aviation of the anti-ISIS [Daesh] coalition flew over the city yesterday”, Konashenkov said in a statement.
The first round of proximity talks between the Syrian government and opposition stalled earlier this month, partly due to opposition complaints about the Russian-backed Syrian government’s relentless bombing campaign in Aleppo.
Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters and their allies have captured an air base in northern Syria, according to an opposition activist group.
As many as 500 people have been killed in the offensives since the beginning of this month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday.
“We have not witnessed such bombardment since the revolution began”, said Abu Thabet, referring to the start of the uprising against Assad’s government in March 2011.
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“With the defeat at Mannagh, Islamist fighters lost the only military airport they held in Aleppo province”, SOHR founder Rami Abdel Rahman said.
