Speaking Sunday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, U.S. Sen.
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Initially, Russia claimed to be targeting ISIS with an air campaign in Syria, but nearly immediately it became clear that the country’s true intention was to bomb groups in opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“You can like that or not, but he’s the president in power”, he said, according to remarks dubbed into English.
The two world leaders reportedly discussed increasing their diplomatic aid in Syria, following ceasefire meetings in Munich. But if it doesn’t work, it will be because of the obstinance of the Syrian regime and that of its allies.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the scale of the Russian army’s presence in Syria will be determined by the Russian authorities, not the Syrian administration.
Analysts believe that Russia’s military intervention in Syria has given Assad a new lease of life and has also deeply alarmed the West.
The call came in the wake of a truce deal forged on Friday by Washington and Moscow that has been criticised by the Syrian opposition, which accuses Russian Federation of continuing bombings of civilian areas.
The conversation was “frank and constructive”, the statement from the Kremlin said, adding it had been Obama’s initiative.
There seems to be greater commitment in the global community to keep the fighting in Syria from spiraling out of control after major world powers agreed in Munich to a “cessation of hostilities” and to the delivery of immediate aid.
Putin stressed the importance of creating a “common front against terrorism” and establishing a working relationship between the Pentagon and the Russian Defence Ministry, it said.
“We are not in a cold-war situation, but also not in the partnership that we established at the end of the Cold War”, Stoltenberg said.
Turkey has shelled a Kurdish militia in northern Syria and demanded it retreat from territory it has seized, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The human rights group, which tracks the conflict, said yesterday that Syrian government forces were poised to advance into the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province as allied Russian jets kept up air strikes on rebel-held towns north of Aleppo.
The Syrian government condemned Turkey’s actions Sunday and sent letters to the U.N. Security Council calling on it to intervene, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
The US urged Turkey to stop the shelling and focus on fighting the group Islamic State (IS).
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While Moscow has called for postponing the planned “cessation of hostilities” to March 1, opposition figures say that – in light of the enormous damage being sustained on the ground – they simply can’t wait that long.
