Russian President Putin’s office said that his American counterpart Obama initiated the phone call as both leaders are concerned about Syria and fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Putin to end his country’s airstrikes against moderate opposition forces in Syria.
Iran, Syria’s regional ally, supports President Bashar al-Assad by sending “military advisers” and volunteers to fight alongside the Syrian army.
Russia will continue its fight against terrorism in Syria even if an agreement on a ceasefire is reached, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said.
“The Russians at this point have made it very clear that their offensive operations… are in support of Bashar al-Assad and his regime”, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said in a recent briefing.
He added that it was also an opportunity to deliver humanitarian aid desperately needed by Syrian civilians.
Assad spoke hours before world powers agreed on an ambitious plan to cease hostilities in Syria within a week, but doubts soon emerged over its viability, especially because it did not include IS or Al-Qaeda’s local branch.
The Kurdish YPG militia, helped by Russian air raids, seized an ex-military air base at Menagh last week, angering Turkey, which sees the YPG as an extension of the PKK, a Kurdish group that waged a bloody insurgent campaign on Turkish soil over most of the past three decades.
The Turkish shelling, which began on Saturday, reportedly targeted the Minnigh airbase – recently taken from Islamist rebels by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Arab militia – and a string of nearby villages. France also called on Sunday for Turkey to halt the bombardment.
Russia’s bombing of Aleppo continued over the weekend and humanitarian groups say the plight of civilians in the city is rapidly deteriorating.
“If Russia or the Assad regime violates this agreement, what are the consequences?”
“Mr Putin is not interested in being our partner”.
Norbert Roettgen, head of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament, said Russian Federation was determined to create “facts on the ground”, to bolster its negotiating position.
Separately, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev commented on US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks about the possibility of sending ground troops to Syria.
Both the US-led coalition and Russian Federation are conducting military campaigns in Syria.
Putin said about necessary close working contacts between defense authorities of Russian Federation and the USA for fighting the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia).
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Russia, which has been carrying out air strikes in Syria since September, has also warned against any ground intervention.
