Alwaght- Russia says it will employ military force against groups “systematically” violating the truce deal on the cessation of hostilities in Syria.
“If there is no reaction from the United States to our proposals [on the control of ceasefire], starting from March 22 Russia will unilaterally apply rules provisioned in the [cessation of hostilities] deal,” the chief of the Russian General Staff’s main operations department, Sergey Rudskoy, said on Monday.
The defense official added that military force will be used only after “receiving verified proof of systematical violations of obligations” to which armed groups in Syria committed as part of the deal brokered by Russia and the US in February. No action will be taken against groups that comply with the ceasefire, and targeting civilian objects is out of question, he stressed.
Rudskoy said note that in accordance with the agreement, Moscow sent representatives of the US a proposal in late February on how to provide for and control compliance of the ceasefire in Syria. The document called for consultations between the US and Russia if information on violations is received, as well as suggestions on how to take military action against the violators.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it has had contacts with US representatives concerning the issue, but said that they have not resulted in any resolution as to how ceasefire violations are to be restrained. Delaying an agreement on a joint position on the matter is “counter-productive,” Moscow diplomats said in their comments, adding that “thus a wrong signal is being sent to those opposition members who have not dissociated themselves from well-known terror groups and do not observe the ceasefire.”
The Syria ceasefire took effect on February 27, but does not apply to ISIS, Al-Nusra, or other organizations designated by the United Nations’ Security Council as terrorist. The control of the cessation of hostilities is provided for both by the Russian ceasefire center at the Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province, and the US coordination center in Amman in Jordan.
