US Secretary of State John Kerry said Moscow must change its targets to respect the ceasefire.
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The cessation of hostilities deal agreed by major powers falls short of a formal ceasefire, since it was not signed by the warring parties – the government and rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad in a five-year war that has killed at least 250,000 people.
Still, officials acknowledged from the start that the test would be turning commitments on paper into reality on the ground – and it wasn’t clear whether deep differences regarding the truce and which groups would be eligible for it could be overcome.
“We have gotten used to conferences and words put into hope, but what we need is action – and the action that I see is that Russian Federation is killing Syrian civilians”, Hijab told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of foreign and security policy leaders. He indicated that Russian Federation remains deeply suspicious of USA intentions.
Parliament member Sharif Shehadeh said “the army aims to regain all Syrian territories and any part of Syria is a target for the army”. But he complained that coordination hasn’t gone beyond an agreement to avoid in-air accidents.
A Syrian military source also spoke to the advance: “It is an indication of the direction of coming operations toward Raqqa”, he said.
Pressure is increasing on Russian Federation over civilian deaths in Syria, with France and the United States urging greater caution.
Asked about his perception of the lenghty remarks by Russia’s top diplomat, Burns said: “Lavrov seemed to indicate in his speech here that he is upset that people want to convince Russian Federation to stop bombing”.
“To date, the vast majority of Russia’s attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups”, Kerry said.
Russian Federation has said it will keep bombing Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which in many areas of western Syria fights government forces in close proximity to insurgents deemed moderates by Western states.
Daniel Serwer, a professor of conflict management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Washington-based Middle East Institute expert, said that Kerry went to Munich to get a “cease-fire”, but he could only get a “cessation of hostilities”, which implies a “less legal status” and “less permanence”.
It remains unclear whether fighters in Syria will adhere to a truce.
Russian Federation has carried out airstrikes in support of Syrian government forces battling for Aleppo.
Reports from state television and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed the forces had captured Tamoura and were now overlooking the town of Hayan and parts of the town of Anadan.
If the Syrian Government and the Opposition agree to the ceasefire details, that could pave the way for a new round of peace talks between President Bashar Assad’s Government and the Opposition, scheduled for February 25 in Geneva.
“There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this”, Medvedev told a security conference in Munich, moments after French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Russian bombing of civilians must stop.
Cavusoglu did not specify the number of troops or jets, or the timing of a possible Saudi deployment, but said exploratory visits have been made.
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Were Saudi troops to deploy to Syria, they could come into direct contact with the military of Iran — Saudi Arabia’s longtime foe in the region, with whom tensions have been rising of late.
