Russia warns US over Syria truce violations

Russia on Monday warned the US that it will start responding to ceasefire violations in Syria unilaterally starting Tuesday if the US refuses to coordinate rules of engagement against the violators.

The Russian military have accused the US of dragging its feet on responding to Moscow’s proposals on joint monitoring of a Syria cease-fire.

A top Russian general said further delays are leading to civilian casualties like in Aleppo where 67 civilians have been reportedly killed by militant fire since the truce started.

After joint discussions with the US for a coordinated action against Syria, lieutenant-general Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian general staff said, “The American side was not ready for this particular discussion and for the approval of the agreement.”

There was no immediate reaction from US officials.

Meanwhile, peace talks in Geneva to end the war in Syria entered their second week on Monday, with Damascus under UN pressure to meet a looming target date for making a concrete proposal on political transition.

United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura says that before negotiations are paused on Thursday he wants the Syrian regime to set down on paper its vision for a new government for leading the country out of five years of brutal conflict.

Mr De Mistura has praised the main Opposition High Negotiations Committee for submitting “substantive” ideas on political transition, but noted that through several meetings last week, the government side’s focus was limited to procedural issues and broad principles.

The UN envoy is scheduled to hold multiple meetings with both sides this week, beginning on Monday.

The truce has broadly held since being declared last month and allowed life-saving aid to reach tens of thousands of Syrians stranded in besieged areas. The ceasefire does not include the Islamic State group (ISIS) and Al Qaeda linked Al Nusra Front, who continue to be targeted in Russian air strikes and government offensives.

Both the Damascus government and the Opposition have rejected Thursday’s move by the Kurds and their allies for a federal system of government in Syria, charging that they would lead to the break-up of the war-torn country.

League deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Helli said the pan-Arab bloc would not recognise last week’s unilateral proclamation by the Kurds and their Arab and Assyrian Christian allies.

“The Arab League rejects such separatist calls that harm the unity of Syria,” Ben Helli told reporters. The unity and territorial integrity of Syria is a fundamental principle” of the Arab League.

At least 26 pro-government fighters were killed battling the Islamic State group near Palmyra, a Unesco world heritage site, on Monday as Damascus stepped up a bid to recapture the ancient city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“IS thwarted an offensive by Syrian regime loyalists as they pressed an advance some four kilometres (two and a half miles) from Palmyra, and at least 26 fighters were killed,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“Warplanes believed to be Russian meanwhile struck parts of Palmyra city and its surroundings in the east of Homs province, as well as Al-Qaryatain in the southeast.”