Russia suspends all Syria airstrikes on areas & armed groups included in ceasefire – General Staff

Russia’s military have stopped all airstrikes on those areas and armed groups which joined the ceasefire in Syria, the General Staff has said at a briefing.

“Russia has fully stopped carrying out airstrikes in “the green zone – those areas and armed units that have sent us requests for a ceasefire,” the chief of the main operations department of the Russian General Staff, Sergey Rudskoy, has told reporters, according to RT.

The Syrian army and 17 armed units have pledged to abide by the ceasefire, he added.

“On February 23, the Syrian army declared that they have agreed to stop military action, in accordance with the US-Russia deal. Seventeen armed units addressed the command of the Hmeimim air base, and signed the application sheets, also pledging to respect the ceasefire,” Rudskoy said.

Seventy Russian drones will be monitoring the ceasefire, it’s been announced.

‘Hotlines’ have been created to ensure the quick exchange of information between the Russian ceasefire coordinating center in Hmeimim, Syria and the US one in Amman, Jordan.

“To provide help in ensuring peace in Syria, the ceasefire center was set up at the Hmeimim air base. Sixty-one Russian officers work there, and its main goals are to help seal the special ceasefire deals, and to sustain ceasefire with the armed groups’ leaders, and to deliver humanitarian aid to the population,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Kuralenko, the head of Russia’s ceasefire headquarters in Hmeimim, told the briefing.

Recently, the Hmeimim ceasefire center received 169 phone calls and e-mails.

Fighting has stopped in 34 residential areas, the Defense Ministry confirmed.

The Russian Defense Ministry has also provided the US military with its current situation map in Syria.

“To exchange information with US colleagues, we’ve developed a map of the situation on the ground in Syria, and this map has been given to the US side during bilateral consultations on February 26, and also via military and diplomatic channels. On this map, one can see the regions where the peace process is on, and also the areas controlled by IS, Al-Nusra, or other armed groups,” Rudskoy said.