Russia’s defense ministry, Pentagon in close contact to monitor ceasefire in Syria - Russian diplomat

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Russia’s defense ministry is staying in close contact with Pentagon to monitor ceasefire in Syria, Russian president’s special envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS on Sunday. "Corresponding communications channels have been established, information exchange is underway," he said. "It is up to the defense ministries to provide concrete information," he said, adding that Moscow was continuing coordination with Damascus and other parties to the settlement process. The chief of the newly-established Russian Center for Ceasefire in Syria, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko, said on Sunday the ceasefire regime was generally observed. However, in his words, nine truce breaches have been registered over the past twenty-four hours. The truce breach instances included "information on the results of shelling of Kabana in the Latakia province, and also the trespassing of the Syrian border by a group of up to 100 militants from Turkey and the seizure of the northern part of Et Tell el-Abyad, some 82 km north of Raqqah, by this group in interaction with other groupings of militants," the general said. The Russian center has turned to the U.S. Reconciliation Center for explanations over the shelling of Syria from the territory of Turkey, which is a member of the US-led coalition, Kuralenko said. Russian and U.S. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama adopted a statement on February 22 on a ceasefire in Syria from February 27. Both countries undertook to influence the Syrian political forces close to them to achieve truce in Syria. The truce regime is not applicable to the groupings recognized by the United Nations as terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (both outlawed in Russia). In the follow-up of the joint statement by the Russian and U.S. leaders, a special Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Sides was set up at Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia. The Center aims to assist armed groups in Syria in concluding ceasefire agreements, maintain the truce regime, control its observance and organize the delivery of humanitarian cargoes to civilians. Read more