On Sunday, Moscow accused Washington of trying to establish quasi-state structures east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.
In an interview with local television, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “Unacceptable things are happening on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River. The US is trying to establish quasi-state structures.”
“They earmark hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild these areas, so that people could return to a normal peaceful life, but they refuse to restore infrastructure in the territories, which are controlled by the Syrian government,” he added.
On the battlefield, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several violations have been committed in the Russian-Turkish demilitarized zone, mainly in the provinces of Idleb, Hama, Aleppo and Lattakia.
“Regime forces renewed shelling areas in the villages and towns of these provinces,” the war-monitor said, adding that in return, the National Front for the Liberation of Syria launched missiles on areas controlled by regime forces.
It also documented that Bashar Assad’s forces sent military reinforcements, consisting of hundreds of members and dozens of vehicles to areas where they are deployed in Idleb and the demilitarized zone.
The actions further complicate a truce deal signed by Russia and Turkey in Sochi last September.
Lavrov said that in previous years, Moscow did not see Western involvement in the Syrian conflict as having offered any alternative constructive strategy to the one outlined by Russia, Iran and Turkey at Astana.
He said, “Despite active and consistent steps by our Turkish colleagues, not all extremists have met the demand to leave the 20-km demilitarized zone.”
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
