Palmyra was retaken from IS by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – backed up by Russian firepower – on March 27.
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Russian officials have long said their actions in Syria have been aimed at terror groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, and US officials admit Russia has picked up the pace of airstrikes on terror targets.
And despite the ceasefire, which applies to the regime and the opposition but not terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, pro-regime forces attacked a market in the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Nouman in Idlib province.
Some beliefs talk of Putin backing up a United Nations -ruled initiative to conclude the civil war, or is using the negotiations to cover the renewed military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russian Federation says that its intervention in Syria consists mainly of air and rocket strikes.
The alleged Russian military moves prompted US President Barack Obama to call his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday and have an “intense conversation” with him, according to Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.
The talks in Geneva aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the Islamic State group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the world’s worst refugee crisis.
UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said he will assess on Friday whether Geneva peace talks can continue, but did not indicate what he expected would happen.
The main Syrian opposition group says it’s keeping “technical experts” in Geneva next week to focus on humanitarian aid for the war-ravaged country, a wobbly cease-fire and a stepped-up push to win the release of detainees.
“For the Syrian people to continue to trust this process, the cessation of hostilities (partial cease-fire) must be respected – that means an end to all targeting of civilians”, Bayley said Thursday.
A US official separately said Russian Federation has been repositioning artillery to northern Syria – a move that may suggest the Syrian government and its allies are preparing another assault on the divided city of Aleppo.
With talks on life support, all members of the main Syrian opposition will leave Geneva by Friday, a source close to the High Negotiations Committee and a Western diplomat said.
“Foreign interference in the talks negatively affects efforts towards a political solution in Syria”, he said.
Chris Harmer, a Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said Assad’s army is exhausted after more than five years of war and is surviving because of support from Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Shiite militias.
Current reports emerging from the opposition indicate that their resentment springs from several issues, the first being the HNC’s demand for a transitional period in Syria without Al-Assad, which the Syrian government responded to by imposing a redline on discussions of Al-Assad and the Syrian presidency. “No storming of Aleppo is planned”, he said. “For now, it’s going back to the battlefields”.
Since March 2011, the Syrian opposition has been calling for ending the four-decade rule of the Assad dynasty in Syria. The regime is offering opposition figures it considers acceptable a limited role in a national unity government.
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Schmid reiterated the European Union’s support for the Syrian opposition and the demands of the Syrian revolution, stressing the EU commitment to supporting the political process until a political transition is put in place.
