Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with his USA counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5.
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“We are working for this region to be declared no-fly zone”, Erdogan said at the G20 meeting in China, referring to the land extending from Jarabulus to Azaz in northern Syria.
Without specifying the details of his talks with Barack Obama, the Russian president said on Monday that he had “grounds to believe” that results on Syria may be achieved “within the next few days”.
Russian Federation is acting to support the continued rule of President Bashar Al-Assad, while the United States is supporting and arming rebels dedicated to his overthrow. The two countries are also thought to be trying to reach a deal on some form of limited military cooperation. He said he had discussed the topic of cybersecurity norms with Putin and earlier with some other countries, and is already seeing some willingness from a lot of countries to adopt the rules, though it will have to be seen whether they are following them.
Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists.
The proposed deal would have stopped their ally, Dictator Al Assad from bombing civilians and US backed rebels, while also allowing aid into starving cities like Aleppo.
Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over focusing their firepower on “common enemies” in Syria, Obama said.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation”, Obama told a press conference closing the Group of 20 summit. “We haven’t yet closed the gap”.
A key part of Obama’s signature policy of engagement with Asia has been stronger military ties to Manila, including a defense pact the two allies signed in 2014 allowing US forces to be based temporarily in designated Philippine military camps.
The US and Russian Federation are on opposing sides of a five-year conflict that has killed 500,000 people, and displaced up to 12 million.
State TV said at least 35 people were killed.
Tartus has been largely spared the worst violence of Syria’s conflict since it began with anti-government protests, and has become a refuge for many Syrians fleeing the fighting.
“In the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a booby-trapped motorcycle was detonated at a main roundabout, killing civilians and members of the Kurdish security forces, according to the Syrian Observatory”, Alison says.
The Islamic State said a suicide auto bomb targeted a military checkpoint west of Damascus.
State television broadcast images of the aftermath, showing rubble strewn on the streets and smoke rising from the charred remains of vehicles.
The Islamic State-run Aamaq news agency said the attacks included six suicide bombings and one remotely detonated blast.
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The administration, which has always been reluctant to intervene directly in the civil war, nonetheless thinks that it is a distraction to what it considers the more important, separate battle against the Islamic State – in both Syria and Iraq – and that it must be resolved.
