Russia Insists on US-Syria Coordination of Aerial Campaigns over Aleppo
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Moscow insists on the position that Washington and Damascus should coordinate activities of their air forces in Syrian northern province of Aleppo, sources told Russian media on Wednesday.
The Izvestia newspaper said citing a source familiar with the recent consultations on Syrian settlement in the Swiss city of Geneva that the United States had sent Russia a package of proposals aimed at coordination between their air forces, Sputnik reported.
Izvestia added that Moscow made it clear for Washington that Russian Aerospace Forces were not involved in aerial operation over Aleppo and the United States should be engaged in a dialogue on the issue with Syria itself. The media outlet added that Russia had no objections to coordination of its efforts with the United States, but only at a distance of several dozens of miles around Aleppo.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with Syrian army fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.
Aleppo has been under siege by militant groups, including Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar ash-Sham and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, classified as terrorist organizations in many countries. The city has seen intense fighting over the past few months, with the Syrian army and local popular forces managing to encircle large groups of militants in the eastern districts of the city.
