Russia Concerned Syrian Terror Groups Used Ceasefire to Regroup

Warns Moderate Rebels Never Did Separate From Nusra Front

A week after Syria’s ceasefire collapsed and with fighting picking up around Aleppo, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the chances of a new ceasefire effort any time soon, warning the “situation is extremely complicated” and that Russia is concerned that terror groups used the last ceasefire to regroup for new attacks.

The ceasefire, which lasted for a week, included a humanitarian pause of strikes against the Nusra Front-held areas around Aleppo, and was meant to also give time for US-backed “moderates” to distance themselves from Nusra forces.

Instead, Peskov says that the separation of the two sides never happened, and that Nusra used that fact to continue strikes on military positions, while using the fact that the ceasefire halted airstrikes to regroup and to replenish their arsenals along the front lines.

The ceasefire was also intended to, after the first week, lead to joint US-Russia operations against Nusra, which similarly never happened, and instead US officials are condemning Russia for unilaterally striking Nusra targets in the absence of US cooperation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.