The Russian defence ministry said it had upped the intensity of its strikes in Syria since Saturday, dropping 1,920 bombs over the past four days to destroy 70 command centre, 21 training grounds and 43 arms depots, among other targets in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia and Palmyra.
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It comes as Mr Shoigu said his military had for the first time struck Islamic State targets in Syria with missiles fired from a submarine in the Mediterranean. Mr Putin said on Tuesday that the Calibre missiles launched from the submarine could be equipped with nuclear warheads, but said he hoped they would “never be needed in the fight against terrorism”.
Russia, the United States, European and Middle Eastern countries agreed last month in talks in Vienna on a two-year timeline leading to Syrian national elections, but left many questions unresolved, most notably the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He said Russian Federation wanted to purge the northwestern Syrian region of unwanted elements to ensure the security of its air and naval bases in Syria. Turkish Energy Ministry sources and Akkuyu NGS officials also said they had not received any information about a halt to work, while efforts to build a port in Akkuyu for the plant are continuing as planned.
When a Russian bomber strayed into Turkish airspace for a short time last month, Turkish fighters shot it down, causing the death of one of the pilots and contributing to the death of a Russian marine sent as part of a rescue team.
Russia’s Rosatom has stopped construction work at Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Turkish energy officials said on Wednesday, as relations between Moscow and Ankara continue to worsen after the downing of a Russian jet.
Putin has insisted that the contents of the black box flight data recorder should only be opened in front of worldwide experts to ensure the results of the investigation are trusted on all sides of the conflict.
Putin said at the Kremlin meeting that it should be analysed with the involvement of foreign experts to determine the plane’s flight path and position, on which Moscow and Ankara furiously disagree.
The downing of the warplane brought Russia’s previously warm ties with Turkey to a post-Cold War low, with Russian Federation imposing economic sanctions on Turkey.
Russian Federation has been conducting air strikes targeting Islamic State (IS, former ISIS, ISIL) militants and other terrorist groups in Syria since September 30.
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Two Russian servicemen were killed when the jet was blasted out of the skies on November 24.
