Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused “some USA officials” of trying to “sabotage” the ceasefire plan.
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According to the U.S. President, progress was being made in the fight against ISIS, but the only way to inflict a lasting defeat on the radical group was “to bring an end to the Syrian conflict”.
Jan Egeland, a special advisor to De Mistura, said Thursday that more than 180 trucks filled with aid had reached six areas under siege from different sides in the past two weeks. The main opposition alliance, which has deep reservations about the terms, has said it is ready for a two-week truce to test the intentions of the government and its Russian and Iranian backers.
He reiterated President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russian Federation will continue striking “terrorist organizations” identified by the Security Council, like the Islamic State extremist group and the Nusra Front.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he hoped the U.S. would respect the truce.
United Nations agencies are working to scale up aid deliveries to Syria before a cessation of hostilities enters into force at midnight Friday to shore up peace efforts.
Hours before the Saturday cessation of hostilities comes into force, Obama huddled with his top national security advisors yesterday to plot the way forward and discuss the campaign against the Islamic State group.
On Monday US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said the US has urged Turkey to stop shelling PYD forces in Syria after being asked if the cessation of hostilities agreement also applied to Turkey’s actions.
Obama stressed the agreement to halt fighting did not apply to the US-led fight against Islamic State.
In the push on Khanaser, the Syrian army and pro-government Shiite militias were backed by Russian airstrikes, The Observatory said.
Obama said the move could lead, potentially, to negotiations on a political agreement to end the civil war, allowing all parties to focus their might against Islamic State militants. Igor Konashenkov, said the center, located at Syria’s Hemeimeem air base which is hosting Russian warplanes, has received several requests for assistance from various opposition groups. “The coming days will be critical and the world will be watching”.
However, after more than five years of failure to negotiate any end to fighting, and with Russia’s intervention having had a decisive impact on the ground, it was not clear what sort of fallback plan Washington might consider if the truce fails.
It won’t be enough to defeat ISIL on the battlefield, Obama said, adding that the US and its allies will have to defeat its ideology.
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De Mistura said he would brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday and then announce a date for a new round of talks, but declined to comment further.
