10 Sep, 2016

Russia and the US have agreed on a new ceasefire plan on Syria that includes a ban on government airstrikes in certain areas and cooperation on strikes against jihadists, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov announced after the marathon talks with the US’s John Kerry.

Opening the much-awaited press conference after some 13 hours of talks, Kerry said that the two have agreed on a comprehensive approach to Syrian reconciliation. He called "on every Syrian stakeholder to support the plan that the United States and Russia have reached, to ... bring this catastrophic conflict to the quickest possible end through a political process."

According to Kerry, the plan is to ensure that Syrian government forces will not carry out combat missions where the so-called moderate opposition is present.

Speaking of fight against Al-Nusra and its efforts to blend with moderate rebels, Kerry stressed “going on Al-Nusra is not a concession to anybody” but “is profoundly in the interests of the US.”

Kerry also outlined an establishment of the Russian-US Joint Implementation Centre (JIG) that would serve the purpose of “delineation of territories controlled by Al-Nusra and opposition groups in the area of active hostilities."

Taking the floor, the Russian FM confirmed that Russia and US had agreed to coordinate airstrikes in Syria, “provided there is a sustained period of reduced violence.”

The first step toward the implementation of this clause will be a 48-hour ceasefire in Syria, Lavrov said.

Lavrov elaborated that the ceasefire comes into effect on September 12 and should last for at least seven days.

“After the ceasefire regime will be in effect for seven days, we will establish an implementation centre, in which the military and the representatives of Russian and US intelligence will handle practical issues, separating terrorists and opposition,” he added.

The Russian FM said that the diplomats have negotiated on five separate documents at the talks.



“Despite the mistrust and attempt to disrupt what we have agreed upon, we managed to work out a package of documents, there are five of them. It allows us to set an effective coordination in the fight against terrorism, to expand the humanitarian access to distressed population, first and foremost in Aleppo,” Lavrov said.

Due to the sensitive nature of the information contained in the agreements, they will not be made available to general public, Lavrov said.

“We cannot make these documents public. They contain rather serious, sensitive information. We don’t want it to fall into hands of those who would surely try to disrupt the implementation of the measures stipulated within in the framework of humanitarian delivery supplies and in other parts of our agreements.”

According to the agreement, both Syrian government and opposition forces will “be required to provide safe, unhindered and sustainable humanitarian, commercial and civilian access to eastern and western Aleppo,” Kerry said.

Rebels are actively preventing the safe passage of humanitarian aid to civilians in Aleppo, Lavrov said, adding that opposition groups stationed there are threatening to attack Russian humanitarian convoys.

"The convoy was ready to go on August 26. But the opposition said that any convoy going down the Castello highway will be shelled," he said.

On Friday, seven people, mostly women and children, were killed and at least 24 injured in a terrorist attack on northern Aleppo after militants fired a missile in the area, according to Syria’s state SANA news agency.

Lavrov emphasized the importance of all opposition groups being included in the negotiations for the reconciliation process to succeed.

“It is the demand of the UN Security Council. Resolution 2254 proclaims that the negotiations should be inclusive, with participation of all Syrian parties, including the groups that have been formed in Moscow, Cairo, El-Riyadh and other places,” he said.

The minister added that there were provocations by some unspecified countries that aimed to portray one of the groups as the only legitimate representative of Syrian opposition at the talks.

10.09.2016

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) opened fire Saturday at the positions of Syrian artillery in the Golan Heights, the defense spokesperson said.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — This is the third hit by what is believed to be a stray projectile in a week as Syrian forces are struggling to flush rebels out of the nearby hideouts.

"In response to the projectile which hit the northern Golan Heights, the IAF targeted artillery positions of the Syrian regime," the statement read.

The spokesperson said that the projectile had been launched from Syria and hit an Israeli-administered area. No one was injured.l

The Golan Heights is a disputed area on the Israeli-Syrian border. Israel occupied part of the territory during the 1967 war and has been managing it alongside other areas in the West Bank for almost half a century.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160910/1045173255/israel-golan-heights-syri...

17 Sep, 2016

US-led coalition jets have bombed Syrian government forces’ positions near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, killing 62 troops and "paving the way" for Islamic State militants, the Syrian Army General Command told the state television.

The bombing took place on al-Tharda Mountain in the region of Deir ez-Zor and caused casualties and destruction on the ground, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported on Saturday.

Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said, citing information received from the Syrian General Command.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the aircraft which carried out the bombings had entered Syrian airspace from the territory of Iraq.

Four strikes against Syrian positions was performed by two F-16 jet fighters and two A-10 support aircraft, it added.

“If the airstrike was caused by the wrong coordinates of targets than it’s a direct consequence of the stubborn unwillingness of the American side to coordinate with Russia in its actions against terrorist groups in Syria,” Konashenkov stressed.

The Defense Ministry also confirmed a report by SANA that an Islamic State offensive began right after Syrian Army positions were hit from the air.

"Immediately after the airstrike by coalition planes, Islamic State militants launched their offensive. Fierce fighting with the terrorists is currently underway in the area of the airport where for a long a time humanitarian aid for civilians was parachuted,” Konashenkov said.

The Syrian General Command has called the bombing a “serious and blatant aggression” against Syrian forces, and said it was "conclusive evidence" that the US and its allies support IS militants.

According to a news release of the US Department of Defense, the coalition’s aviation performed combat missions in Deir ez-Zor on Saturday.

“We are aware of the reports and checking with Centcom and CJTF (Combined Joint Task Force),” the Pentagon told RT.

The US Central Command later has issued a statement, saying that it had no intention of targeting Syrian government forces near Deir ez-Zor.

“Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but [the] coalition would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit,” the statement read.

CENTCOM promised that the strike and circumstances surrounding it will be reviewed “to see if any lesson can be learned.”

An unnamed US military official told Reuters that he was "pretty sure" that the targets hit in US-led coalition air strike on Saturday had been Syrian forces.

According to the official, the bombings in Deir ez-Zor were carried out using US intelligence, which was being gathered for days.

The US attack stopped as soon as Russia notified the American side that they had been hitting the Syrian military, he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused the US of being reluctant to take measures to force rebels under its control to fall in line with the terms of the Syrian ceasefire.

Numerous Russian appeals to the American side remain unanswered, which “raises doubts over the US’s ability to influence opposition groups under their control and their willingness to further ensure the implementation of the Geneva agreements,” senior Russian General Staff official, Viktor Poznikhir, said.

Poznikhir also said that the truce is being used by the militants to regroup, resupply and prepare an offensive against government troops.

Last week, Moscow and Washington agreed to influence the Syrian government and the so-called moderate rebel forces respectively in order to establish a ceasefire in the country.

Since then, Russia has repeatedly complained that the US is failing to keep its part of the bargain. The US, on its part, has blamed Russia for not pressuring Damascus enough to facilitate humanitarian access to Syria.

Neither a mistaken nor a deliberate strike can be ruled out, Kamal Alam from the Royal United Service Institute, told RT when asked to comment on the incident.

There’s a possibility “that it’s a genuine mistake and the Americans in going after IS have gone after the Syrian military… because Dier ez-Zor city is under the Syrain Arab Army, but the rest of the districts are all under IS,” he said.

But it’s “a lot more dangerous” if the US had been “attacking the Syrian military to make the moderates happy,” Alam stressed, recalling recent reports of militants chasing the American Special Forces, which Washington interpreted as a signed of diminishing support from the Syrian opposition."

https://www.rt.com/news/359678-us-strikes-syrian-army/

Sep 17, 2016

Syrian military positions have been targeted in an Israeli drone attack in the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra located in the Golan Heights.

At least one person was killed and five more wounded in the Saturday attack which took place in the province’s Khan Arnabah district.

Last week, the Syrian army announced that it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone inside Syria following an Israeli attack on Syrian army positions.

Syrian forces are currently engaged in a battle against terrorists in the Golan Heights.

Syria says Israel and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri militant groups operating inside the Arab country. Moreover, the Syrian army has repeatedly seized huge quantities of Israeli-made weapons and advanced military equipment from the foreign-backed militants inside Syria.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria after the 1967 Six-Day War and later occupied it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

The regime has built tens of illegal settlements in the area ever since and has used the region to carry out a number of military operations against the Syrian government.

http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/09/17/485182/syrian-quneitra-drone-israel

18.09.2016

The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations found the timing of what the United States called an accidental and unintentional airstrike to be suspicious only minutes after the US representative to the international body effectively blamed Russia and the Assad regime calling the emergency meeting a "stunt."

Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations questioned the United States sudden interest in the fight against Daesh in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor where Syrian forces loyal to the Assad regime have been the vanguard of the fighting force against Daesh saying that it was suspicious that the Americans would suddenly try to "help" the Syrian Army as they claimed they were targeted Daesh in the region.

"It is highly suspicious that the United States chose to conduct this particular air strike at this time," Russia's ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. He also questioned America's willingness to actively engage the fight against terror rather than focusing on attempting regime change in Syria saying that US forces did "nothing when ISIS advanced on Palmyra." A major diplomatic row looks to be developing between the United States and Russia only five days after a breakthrough ceasefire deal that had called for the two nations to coordinate airstrikes — in large part to prevent incidents like Saturday's horrific bombing attack against Syrian forces — and came with a demand by the White House for the so-called moderate rebels to disband for the al-Nusra Front with whom they have been embedded with in recent weeks.

https://sputniknews.com/news/20160918/1045422697/russia-churkin-coalition-airstr...

September 18



MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry invited the US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power to visit Syria "to learn what ‘shame’ means." That was her comment posted on Facebook on Power’s statement, where she claimed Zakharova should be ashamed of the earlier voiced supposition Washington cooperated with the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia).

Meaning of shame

"Dear Samantha Power, in order to learn the meaning of word ‘shame’ I would advise you to visit Syria and meet people there," Zakharova wrote. "Not with Nusra, nor with the moderate opposition, about delivery of humanitarian aid for which Washington is worried so much, not with those living in the West who are so concerned about the prosperous future for that country, but meet people, who live there, despite the fact that for almost six years already their country undergoes a bloody experiment, with an active involvement of Washington."

The foreign ministry’s representative said she has been communicating Syrians, including representatives of the Syrian opposition, with orphans, who come to rest and receive rehabilitation treatment in Russia, with reporters. So that Power could also have experience of the kind, Zakharova invited her to visit Syria.

"Why not go together?" she said. "All at my expense. Sure, it is not a tour of the UN corridors for the miserable. That trip would be much more breath-taking. Do agree. No fears. Nobody will touch you if you are there with me. But for a possible chance, where yours "by a mistake" deliver a strike somewhere special. You will have things to remember. And, besides, will be able to learn what "shame" means."

Weird allies

Zakharova also critically commented on Power’s statement the U.S. cannot support the Islamic State, since its militants cut off heads of the U.S. citizens.

"To your words claiming the U.S. could not support those who cut off heads of the U.S. citizens, please find attached hereto a picture from Wikipedia "U.S. President Ronald Regan meets a delegation of Afghanistan’s mujahideen in the White House, 1983."," Zakharova wrote.

On September 17, Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said the anti-IS coalition’s warplanes delivered air strikes on units of the Syrian governmental forces, killing 62 Syrian servicemen and injuring 100 more. "Today between 17.00 and 17.50 Moscow Standard Time (14.00-14.50 GMT) aircraft of the anti-IS coalition (two F-16 fighter jets and two A10s) delivered four air strikes near the airport of the city of Deir ez-Zor (Syria) on units of the Syrian governmental forces besieged by the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia)," he said. "The coalition warplanes entered the airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic from Iraq."

The Syrian command in Deir ez-Zor said that 62 Syrian servicemen died in the air attack and about 100 more were wounded.

"Immediately after the anti-IS coalition’s air strike the IS militants launched an offensive," the defense ministry’s spokesman said.

Upon this information, Zakharova said, actions of the kind are pushing Russia to the conclusion about cooperation between the U.S. and IS. In response to this statement, Power said the foreign ministry’s representative should be ashamed for the supposition.

http://tass.com/politics/900546

20.09.2016

The United States might have said that it can influence the so-called moderate opposition in Syria, but Washington has in fact been unable to make armed rebels adhere to the ceasefire deal inked by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, defense analyst Viktor Murakhovsky told Gazeta.ru.

The United States "does not really understand who they provide weapons to in Syria," the editor of the Arsenal Otechestva (the Armory of the Fatherland) military magazine added. "History has been repeating itself since Afghanistan. The US has made the same mistakes and has run into the same trap. Al-Qaeda has been nurtured by the US, by their own hands."

On Monday, the Syrian Arab Army declared that the ceasefire that went into force on September 12 as part of a deal brokered by Russian and American diplomats was over. The Syrian military accused terrorist groups of violating the week-long truce more than 300 times, while using the calm to rearm and resupply.

The Russian Center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria recorded 53 ceasefire violations by illegal armed militias on September 19 alone. The situation was the worst in Aleppo, the second largest city in the country, where 26 violations are reported to have taken place.

A source in the Russian Ministry of Defense told Kommersant that the Syrian Arab Army "could not comprehend" the recent developments. "Each day their fighters are dying. How can we explain to them that they cannot defend themselves?"

The source also noted that the United States "preferred to fully distance itself" from keeping in touch with the Russian Armed Forces, ignoring their inquiries and not answering the phone. Rumors have circulated that the Pentagon was opposed to the deal, particularly the unprecedented level of military cooperation that was expected to follow if the ceasefire held for seven days.

Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute for Political and Military Analysis, told Gazeta.ru that he was "genuinely happy" that the Syrian Arab Army ended the ceasefire.

"I wish that no ceasefires are announced any longer during the armed fight with global terrorism and that this fight is carried out until the end," he said. "But there are no guarantees that various ceasefires and pauses will not be declared in the future."



Not a single warring party was intent on adhering to the temporary ceasefire from the moment it went into force, independent defense analyst Anton Lavrov said, adding that there is no ground for real national reconciliation in Syria.

"However, the end of the ceasefire could lay the groundwork for the Syrian Arab Army's ultimate victory in Aleppo," he added.

Aleppo is partially controlled by the SAA and rebels, including al-Nusra Front. Experts have said that the outcome of the battle for the city could well determine who gains the upper hand in the Syrian war.

https://sputniknews.com/politics/20160920/1045501220/us-syrian-rebels-ceasefire....