West rejects Russian Federation push against Turkey over Syria

On Saturday, various Syrian opposition factions “expressed agreement on the possibility of reaching a temporary truce deal, to be reached through global mediation”, a statement from the High Negotiations Committee said.

Mr Putin has vowed to fight Isis but his forces have been accused of targeting moderate opposition groups and civilians while following Syrian intelligence on what the government defines as “terrorists”.

The Saudi-backed group, known as the High Negotiations Committee, said any potential truce would require the Syrian government to first lift blockades from rebel-held communities and release thousands of detainees.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, soldiers from the…

The statement followed a meeting between opposition groups held in Riyadh Saturday, after a deadline set by world powers for a temporary pause in fighting passed. The group has been on the offensive near the Turkish border, seizing territory from Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as well as the extremist Islamic State group.

At least 14 were killed in the northern town of Azaz, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, where missiles hit a children’s hospital and a school sheltering refugees, while 15 were feared dead at a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Ma’arat Al Numan, Idlib province.

Officials from the two countries sat down for talks to find a way to reach a long-term cessation of hostilities that would help efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged areas in Syria, but there was no pause in combat there.

The Nusra Front is considered a terrorist organisation by the U.N. Security Council and banned.

Russian Federation joined the Syrian civil war at the request of Bashar al-Assad and is supporting the regime’s ground forces.

Russian fighter jets are repeatedly striking rebel targets, particularly in Aleppo, backing government forces as they push towards Syria’s second city.

The draft resolution was put forth by Russian Federation on Friday at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

The Kremlin said it regretted the rejection of the resolution and that it would continue to protect the Syria’s sovereignty.

“This is a decision that the global coalition will have to make”.

However, the U.S. and French ambassadors to the United Nations both said that the Russian draft resolution had no future ahead of the closed-door session, Reuters reported.

Talks were planned to resume on 25 February but United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura announced yesterday that they had been delayed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that the Kremlin “has always attempted to solve any disputes through political and diplomatic means alone, contributed to stabilization in various countries and helped resolve bitter conflicts”.

It added that a number of civilians were injured by the artillery fire that targeted Tel Rifaat, Malikiyeh and other towns.

It has also threatened ground action, saying it is exercising its right to self-defence and responding to fire from Syrian soil.