Russia says resumption of Syria peace
talks delayed indefinitely
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[November 01, 2016]
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Defense
Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday a Western failure to rein in
violent Islamists in Syria had indefinitely delayed the resumption of
peace talks.
Shoigu said that rebels backed by Western governments had been attacking
civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo, despite a pause in Russian and
Syrian air attacks.
"As a result, the prospects for the start of a negotiation process and
the return to peaceful life in Syria are postponed for an indefinite
period," Shoigu said.
Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, and
its military operation in Syria, now in its second year, has shored up
Assad's position. That has put Moscow on a collision course with
Washington and its allies who want Assad removed from office.
Since Oct. 18, Russia and its Syrian allies say they have halted air
attacks in Aleppo. Western governments had alleged that the strikes had
been killing civilians in large numbers, an allegation Moscow denied.
But the pause in the air attacks on Aleppo is fragile: Russian President
Vladimir Putin said last month its continuation depended on the behavior
of moderate rebel groups in Aleppo and their Western backers.
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Shoigu, who was addressing a meeting of Russian military officials,
railed against those rebels and their backers, saying they had
squandered a chance for peace talks.
"It is time for our Western colleagues to determine who they are
fighting against: terrorists or Russia," Shoigu said, in remarks
broadcast on Russian television.
"Maybe they have forgotten at whose hands innocent people died in
Belgium, in France, in Egypt and elsewhere?"
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![](../images/110116pics/news_q25.jpg)
A rebel fighter in Dahiyet al-Assad fires a shell towards
regime-held Hamdaniyah neighbourhood, west Aleppo city, Syria
October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah
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Listing attacks he said had been carried out by Western-backed
rebels inside Aleppo, he said: "Is this an opposition with which we
can achieve agreements?"
"In order to destroy terrorists in Syria it is necessary to act
together, and not put a spanner in the works of partners. Because
the rebels exploit that in their own interests."
Shoigu said he was also surprised that some European governments had
refused to allow Russian navy vessels bound for Syria to dock in
their Mediterranean ports to refuel or take on supplies.
But he said those refusals had not affected the naval mission, or
interfered with supplies reaching the Russian military operation in
Syria.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by
Andrew Osborn)
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