Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is not going to keep tolerating the daily shelling of Damascus by Eastern Ghouta terrorists that recently hit the Russian embassy in Syria.
Speaking in Moscow on Wednesday after meeting Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Putin said the current hotspot of the Syrian crisis – Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus – is being used by numerous terrorist groups as a base, from which they launch attacks on the capital and other areas in the country
Putin particularly stressed that the Russian embassy in Damascus has come under mortar fire. The building has been shelled and suffered damage on numerous occasions during the Syrian conflict. On February 6, the Russian trade mission in the Syrian capital was also targeted. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, but civilians were injured in the attack.
“It’s well-known – at least, we know this well in Russia – that shells land even on the territory of the Russian embassy and trade mission. Are we going to tolerate this forever?” the president wondered.
According to the Russian leader, Moscow will “strive to establish political dialogue” and ensure the beginning of the work on the new Syrian constitution. Russia will also work to turn the de-escalation zones in Syria into “areas of cooperation between Damascus and the opposition,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russia says it has done its part to usher in calm in the militant-besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, where it has announced a humanitarian pause, saying the ball is now in the court of militants and their supporters to make the truce in Syria work.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said militants in control of Eastern Ghouta are responsible for ensuring that the humanitarian pause would facilitate aid delivery to the violence-stricken residents.
Eastern Ghouta has witnessed deadly violence over the past days, with foreign-sponsored terrorists there launching mortar attacks on the city in the face of an imminent humiliating defeat.
The Russian military says terrorists in Syria are blocking civilian evacuations from Eastern Ghouta by shelling the route out of the area in defiance of the humanitarian ceasefire.
