The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that an anti-aircraft missile regiment based in Crimea had received a new S-400 Triumf air defense missile system.
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Fighting in Aleppo, once Syria’s commercial capital, has intensified in recent weeks. But both are participating in talks to try to find a political solution to end the civil war.
“We are moving step by step closer to a plan – and I’m only talking about Aleppo here – that would really allow us to start fighting together to bring peace so that people can return to their homes in this troubled land”.
In the interview conducted on Saturday but shown only today, Shoigu said Moscow is in close negotiations regarding the city, where Russian planes and regime forces are battling rebels for control.
He added that Russian representatives are “in a very active stage of talks with our American colleagues”.
The operation, in which US special forces played a significant role, marks the most ambitious advance by a group allied to Washington in Syria since the United States launched its military campaign against Daesh two years ago.
Since launching an anti-terror operation in Syria at the request of its president, Moscow has been proposing to Washington that the US-led coalition unite with Russia’s forces to defeat Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL), but to no avail until quite recently.
If everything goes as planned, the Russian and United States militaries may “permit integrated operations” that include assisting each other in air raids.
On Monday, the International Committee for the Red Cross called the battle for Aleppo “one of the most devastating urban conflicts in modern times”. The scale of the suffering is huge, ” Maurer said in a statement.
“I don’t think we’re now in a situation when someone is interested in cutting diplomatic ties (between Russian Federation and Ukraine)”, said Lavrov.
The Foreign Ministry said on its website the meeting will take place in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia should play a more active role in helping to resolve the Syria crisis.
