Russia Ramps Up Air War With Turkish Incursion into Aleppo

“Government forces and local militia have advanced toward the city of Arak,” the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

The most intense clashes take place near Syria’s border with Turkey as terrorists are getting hardware and manpower there, Igor Konashenkov said.

The presence of Russian military in Syria depends on the destruction of terrorists’ supply channels from the outside of the country.

“Most problematic regions are in the north of the [Syrian Arab] Republic inAleppo and on the Syrian-Turkish border, in particular. As we have repeatedly stated, terrorists get manpower, as well as ammunition and other resources from this direction [Turkey].””The truce is observed in most of Syria. There are some violations, but there are no attempts to resume hostilities.”

The Russian center for Syrian reconciliation, the US center in Amman, Damascus and moderate Syrian opposition are holding talks on introducing a “silent” period in Aleppo, the country’s second largest city.

The Russian Defense Ministry and the US military have reached a “complete understanding” over flights of military aircraft in Syria, Konashenkov said.

“There is currently complete understanding on this issue; data exchange has been established with our [US] colleagues concerning where and how flights are carried out.”

He added that 11 groups from the Russian reconciliation center are currently operating in Syria’s Aleppo, Damascus, Daraa, Hama, Latakia, Homs provinces.