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| Russia calls for 48-hour extension of Syrian ceasefire | Russia calls for 48-hour extension of Syrian ceasefire |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Moscow has called for the ceasefire in Syria, in place since late Monday, to be extended for another 48 hours, the Russian General Staff says. It adds that militants have violated the ceasefire 60 times since it began. | |
| "In accordance with the Russian-US agreements, the existing 48-hour ceasefire is expiring today at 7pm [Moscow time – 16:00 GMT]. We note that recently the cessation of hostilities was observed in full. As of this morning the overall number of violations by the militants has reached 60,” Russian General Staff official Viktor Poznikhir said on Wednesday. | "In accordance with the Russian-US agreements, the existing 48-hour ceasefire is expiring today at 7pm [Moscow time – 16:00 GMT]. We note that recently the cessation of hostilities was observed in full. As of this morning the overall number of violations by the militants has reached 60,” Russian General Staff official Viktor Poznikhir said on Wednesday. |
| He added that Russia understands the necessity of the full implementation of the agreements reached, and that it is “in favor of extending the ceasefire across Syria for another 48 hours.” | He added that Russia understands the necessity of the full implementation of the agreements reached, and that it is “in favor of extending the ceasefire across Syria for another 48 hours.” |
| The Russian military also announced it has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists who were preparing an assault on the key city of Palmyra, liberated from IS earlier this year. According to the Russian General Staff, 250 militants were killed in the strikes. | |
| “The fight against ISIS continues. Yesterday Russian Aerospace Forces carried out airstrikes in the region north of Palmyra, where ISIS fighters have gathered for the assault on the city,” Poznikhir said. | |
| Militants have shelled residential areas and positions of the Syrian Army in Aleppo, according to Moscow. | |
| “In the past 24 hours we registered at least 10 cases of shelling of residential areas and positions of the government forces,” the deputy chief of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, Sergey Kapitsyn, said. | |
| He added the worst attacks took place in the district of al-Ansari where “three civilians were killed and seven injured.” | |
| On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the implementation of the Russian-US agreements on Syria with his American counterpart, John Kerry. Lavrov stressed that the US should stick to its promise on the urgent dissociation of the US-backed rebels in Syria from Al-Nusra Front terrorists and “those groups who have basically merged with this branch of Al-Qaeda.” | |
| The 48-hour cessation of hostilities in Syria brokered by Russia and the US came into effect on Monday at 7pm Damascus time (16:00 GMT). | |
| The ceasefire is part of a broader peace plan agreed by Lavrov and Kerry, last Friday in Geneva. | |
| If the ceasefire holds for seven days, Russia and the US will establish a joint center to coordinate airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria. |