The Syrian Coalition said that Russia has put itself in a corner by continuing to support the Assad regime, stressing that Russia must prove itself neutral if it wants to become part of the political process.
Member of the Syrian Coalition Ruba Habboush said that Russia has so far failed to deliver on its obligations as a guarantor the cease-fire agreement, adding that “Moscow’s failure to meet its international obligations will have serious repercussions.”
Haboush pointed out that Moscow is reneging on its commitments as a guarantor of the ceasefire agreement to serve its own interests. She added that Russia’s actions encourage the Assad regime to continue to bomb civilians using internationally banned weapons, especially chemical weapons, the latest of which was the attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rural Idlib on April 4.
Member of the Coalition’s political committee Mohammed Jouja slammed Russia’s escalation of its aerial campaign on the liberated areas. The intensified Russian airstrikes have left dozens of civilian casualties in the past few days.
The Coalition’s media department said it has recorded no fewer than 50 truce violations by the Russian air force which has carried out dozens of airstrikes on around 50 rebel-held towns villages on Sunday and Monday.
Assad regime and Russian forces have violated the truce on over 840 occasions since April 1, the media department said. Regime forces and their allied foreign militias were responsible for 586 truce violations, while Russian forces were responsible for 254.
Jouja stressed the need to bolster the cease-fire agreement, adding that regime forces must withdraw from all the areas they have captured since the cease-fire agreement took effect in December 30. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
