Heads of General Staff of Russia, Turkey and USA to Discuss Syria

07.03.2017

Today, the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, met with his counterparts from Turkey and the United States in Antalya to discuss the situation in Syria and Iraq.

Russia Against Terrorism

Russia launched an operation against militants of the  Islamic State in September 2015. Since December 30, 2016 in Syria, a ceasefire has been in effect. The guarantors of the ceasefire are Russia and Turkey.

In October 2015, the parties signed a joint memorandum on safety issues in Syria, by which channels for round-the-clock operational communication between the militaries of Russia and the United States were created.

Recent Successes

Government forces of the SAA and militia groups supported by the Russian Air Force completely liberated Palmyra on March 2. The storming of the city lasted less than 24 hours and ended with minimal losses for the Syrian army. On Friday, the Syrian army liberated the territory of the Palmyra airport.

Islamic State militants captured Palmyra in May 2015, but in the spring of 2016, the Syrian military, in cooperation with Russian Armed Forces, managed to liberate the city. However, in December of last year, Palmyra was again in the hands of extremists.