New talks on Syria

On March 4th, the leaders of Russia, Britain, Germany, and France - Vladimir Putin, David Cameron, Angela Merkel, and Francois Hollande - will hold a conference call on Syria. Today in Paris, Foreign Ministers from France, Germany, Great Britain - Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Philip Hammond - and Helga Schmid, the EU representative, will meet to discuss the situation in Syria.

The indefinite truce

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the current truce, since February 27th, is of indefinite duration. It does not apply to terrorist groups operating in the country: ISIS, Al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham.

Respite for militants

The United States and its allies are using the truce to strengthen the militants. Due to the temporary respite rebels are now gaining ground. Because of the armistice Syria and Russia were unable to block the border with Turkey, through which the lion's share of support, not only for armed "moderate opposition", but also for terrorists, is effectuated. Saudi Arabia has not abandoned plans to supply the rebels with MANPADS and anti-tank missiles.

At the same time the opposition continues to violate the truce. 14 of these violations, most of them in Aleppo province, were recorded during the previous day.

Turkey continues its attacks on the Kurds. Radical militants receive shelter on the Turkish side; some of them are under the direct patronage of the Turkish Armed Forces.

New talks

On March 9th, a new round of inter-Syria negotiations in Geneva is planned to start. Previously, it was supposed to start on March 7th, but the negotiations were delayed. The formal reason: it clashed with the Geneva International Motor Show, scheduled for the same time. It is more likely, however, as in past times, that there were difficulties in mutually approving the participants in the negotiation process. The Syrian Kurds declared that they were not invited once again. A common list of terrorist organizations that do not have the right to participate in the political process has still not been established.

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New talks on Syria