Putin Rejects Request to Resume Aleppo Raids ’At Present Time’
Local Editor
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a request for the resumption of airstrikes in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo so that humanitarian efforts can continue in the northwestern city and the US can separate the so-called "moderate" opposition forces from other terrorists there.
"The Russian president considers it inappropriate at the present time to resume airstrikes in Aleppo," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a press conference in Moscow on Friday.
"In case of extreme necessity to prevent provocative actions on the part of terrorist groups, the Russian side reserves the right to use all means at its disposal to provide an appropriate level of support to the Syrian armed forces," he added.
Peskov went on to say that the Russian president believes that the humanitarian pause should continue "to allow the withdrawal of the wounded and the militants who wish to leave the city."
The Kremlin spokesman added that the pause in airstrikes was also meant to allow the "American partners to fulfill the obligations to separate the so-called ‘moderate' opposition and the terrorists, which they took upon themselves."
Peskov's comments came hours after Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi announced that he had asked the Russian leader to grant the military permission to resume airstrikes against illegal armed groups operating in the militant-held areas in eastern Aleppo, arguing that they had resumed their military activities against Syrian troops.
Rudskoi added that earlier on Friday, three groups of militants, taking advantage of "the moratorium of Russian and Syrian combat flights," launched an attack to break into the eastern areas of the city with the support of 20 tanks,15 armored personnel carriers [APC], and heavy artillery and rocket fire.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
