LATEST: Insurgents Renew Water Supply to Damascus and Suburbs After 3-Day Cutoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin has received Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem to discuss the next political and military steps in the 44-month conflict.
Al-Moallem saw Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the southern Russian city of Sochi. Topics included the recent mission of the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, with his proposal for a freeze in fighting in Aleppo.
Al-Moallem said Syria and Russia had ” identical viewpoints” on the initiative. He added that discussions also dealt with the conspiracy against Syria, that became well-known to all, by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey”.
Lavrov said of de Mistura’s proposal, “Success in this sphere would make it possible to avoid new casualties and return thousands of civilians to normal life.”
The Foreign Minister talked about the need for a campaign against the Islamic State and then reaffirmed Moscow’s support for President Assad: “We condemn any attempt by the terrorist organizations to topple the regime in Syria….We reached a unified opinion with al-Moallem that there is no solution by force.”
Insurgents Renew Water Supply to Damascus and Suburbs After 3-Day Cutoff
The Local Coordination Committee in the Wadi Barada area near Damascus say insurgents reopened the flow of water to Damascus and its suburbs on Tuesday after a partial cutoff lasting three days.
The fighters renewed the supply from a main spring in the town of Ein al-Fijeh, about 15 km (10 miles) northwest of Damascus. They had limited the supply to millions of people, including residents of well-off sections of the capital, amid a five-day regime assault on Ein al-Fijeh.
Insurgents and the regime forces agreed a truce on Tuesday. Terms include a lifting of the siege on Wadi Barada, permission for the entrance of humanitarian aid, and release of women detainees from regime prisons in the area.
