“Finally, the Syrian government is fully ready for withdrawing troops from Castello Road, simultaneously with the opposition, to ensure safe passage of United Nations humanitarian convoys”, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass.
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Syria and Russian Federation earlier said jets from a USA -led coalition had struck a Syrian army position near Deir al-Zor, killing scores and allowing Islamic State fighters to briefly overrun it.
The UN said it has not received the necessary guarantees from the U.S. and Russian Federation for aid convoys to cross the Turkish border into Syria – nor permission from the Syrian government for trucks to get through government checkpoints to deliver badly need supplies.
On Saturday, Lieutenant-General Viktor Poznikhir added: “If the United States does not take steps needed to fulfil its obligations under the 9 September agreement, then all the responsibility for any collapse of the ceasefire in Syria would lie with the United States”.
Pressure on ceasefire The lack of progress on aid, almost a week after the ceasefire agreement was sealed between Russian Federation and the U.S. in Geneva, is placing pressure on the fragile ceasefire with more reports of clashes, some inside the ceasefire area. The dead include 700 civilians, among them 160 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Even if the bombardment of the Syrian government troops was a mistake, the spokesman said, it is still a effect of Washington’s unwillingness to coordinate its anti-terror efforts with Moscow. Russian Federation also carries out attacks against IS targets, in Deir el-Zour and other parts of Syria.
Vladimir Savchenko said late on Thursday the Syrian government had done so to ensure the delivery of humanitarian supplies into rebel-held east Aleppo.
“Since we could not agree on an approach to briefing the council that would not compromise the operational security of the arrangement, the meeting was canceled”, a spokesman for the U.S. mission said.
Syrian state television said the government forces had foiled a rebel attack.
The U.N. has accused Assad’s government of obstructing aid access to the contested city.
He appeared to be referring to the Fatah al-Sham Front, an al-Qaida-linked group previously known as the Nusra Front, which is deeply embedded in rebel-held areas and fights alongside more moderate groups.
If the cessation holds for seven days, the United States and Russian Federation have agreed to plan joint attacks on the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, which was previously known as the al-Nusra Front, and IS.
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The Syrian army started withdrawing from the strategic Castello highway in the northern province of Aleppo on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua.
