Russia violating Syria truce, Turkish FM told in Paris

By Fatma Esma Arslan and Bilal Muftuoglu

PARIS

Russia has violated the recently-agreed Syria truce by targeting civilians and hospitals instead of terrorist groups like Daesh or Al Nusra, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting on Syria in Paris, Cavusoglu said the Syrian opposition group leader Riyad Hijab told him that Russia and the Bashar al-Assad regime continued to violate the cessation-of-hostilities deal.

"We pointed out Turkey's support to Hijab and asked about the Syria truce. Hijab told us that Russia violates the truce by targeting civilians and hospitals instead of terrorist organizations of Daesh or Al Nusra," he said.

In remarks made at a press conference, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on the Assad regime to adhere to the truce.

Ayrault earlier also attended a meeting in Paris that discussed way to revive the Syrian peace process.

He urged the international community to make more efforts since the Syrian crisis was at a critical point.

He blamed the regime for not taking necessary steps to deliver humanitarian aid, which could only be delivered to 25 percent of the needy people.

Brokered in February chiefly by Moscow and Washington, the cessation-of-hostilities agreement called on Syria’s warring parties to immediately halt hostilities and increase humanitarian access in the country. Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, Nusra Front, and Daesh were excluded from the agreement’s protections.

The deal had largely held until fighting erupted in Syria’s second city, Aleppo, in April amid a Syrian army buildup and rebel offensive.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.