PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the press on Thursday

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to hold the initiative over Syria’s crisis, supporting the Assad regime, trying to intimidate Turkey, and handing out both insults and a few words of support for the US.

Putin performed at a Thursday press conference, setting up the headlines with some crude language about the conflict with Turkey following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets near the Syrian border on November 24.

If someone in Turkey decided to kiss Americans on a certain body part, I don’t know whether it was right or not….

It’s possible there was a certain agreement on some level: “We down a Russian plane and you turn a blind eye”; “We deploy our troops to Iraq and occupy a part of Iraq”.

He then warned Ankara that Russia was prepared to shoot down Turkish aircraft:

[Turkey] thought we would flee! No, Russia is not a country to act like that. We increased our presence in Syria; we increased the strength of our air forces. There were no anti-aircraft weapon systems there before – now there is the S-400 [advanced anti-aircraft missile system].

Turkey used to violate Syrian airspace on a regular basis. Now let’s see them fly there.

The challenge to Turkey bolstered Putin’s assertion of Russia’s long-term dedication to the survival of the Assad regime, as the President said that “it is hard to imagine a better exercise” than Moscow’s operations in Syria.

He assured that Russia “will never agree to someone from the outside imposing something” over the fate of Assad and dismissed any possibility that Moscow might pull back because of the strains on its weakening economy: “We can keep exercising there for a long time without much spending.”

However, having insulted the US, Putin then played his diplomatic card of Moscow-Washington leadership of a political settlement that would assure Assad’s stay in power, at least in the short term, and a unified front against “terrorists”: “Russia’s plan for a resolution to the situation in Syria coincides in its main points with that of the United States.”

Coordinator of Opposition Bloc: We Will Never Accept Assad

Riad Hijab, the coordinator of the opposition-rebel bloc established last week in Saudi Arabia, has told reporters that the group will never accept an agreement which leaves President Assad in power:

We are going into negotiations on this principle, we are not entering talks [based on] anything else. There will be no concession.

Hijab, who defected in 2012 while he was the regime’s Prime Minister, said that Assad must implement trust-building measures before any negotiations. These include release of prisoners, especially women and children; a halt to barrel bombings; and acceptance of humanitarian aid into all areas of Syria:

We will not accept any pressure. The aims of the revolution and the international resolutions, we cling to them, and we will not give them up.

I call it a battle in terms of the negotiation process and the political process. It is in tandem with what is happening on the ground.

Our first option is the peaceful option. But if it’s not complete, the other option will continue and will not stop…until it fulfils the aims of toppling the illegitimate regime.

US Defense Secretary: Special Forces Now Working with Kurds in Northeastern Syria

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has confirmed publicly that American special forces are now working inside Syria with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The special forces are likely to have been covertly working with Kurds for months, but it was only in October that President Obama formally authorized the despatch of up to 50 commandos to work with the SDF. The Administration subsequently said another 100 troops were being deployed in northern Iraq and could cross the border for operations.

Carter told reporters during a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan that the special forces had undertaken “an exploratory mission” to “identify and link up with local forces, in this case especially Syrian-Arab forces, that were willing to fight ISIL [the Islamic State], but needed our help”.

He said that the initial meetings with the Arabs “bore the fruit that we hoped it would,” and “we have indications that there are more of them, which is what we want as we move further south to [the Islamic State’s center of] Raqqa”.

The US intervention is unlikely to support an offensive against Raqqa, as Kurdish political and military leaders have indicated that they want to concentrate on the fight against ISIS inside Syrian Kurdistan.

The immediate operation is likely to be an advance on the town of al-Shadadi on the road between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor in northeastern Syria (see below).

US Officials: More Ammo to Kurdish-Led Force Ahead of Attack on IS-Held Town in Northeast

US officials have said that more ammunition has been sent to a Kurdish-led force, ahead of an offensive against an Islamic State-held town in northeastern Syria.

The officials said the munitions, the third declared delivery since October, were transported across land in recent days in expectation of an attack on the town of al-Shadadi

The sources used the official American line that the ammunition given to “Syrian Arab fighters” who are a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, rather than the Kurdish leadership.

The US sent 50 tons of weapons and ammunition to the SDF after its formation in October, supporting the Kurdish-led capture of IS territory in Hasakah Province.

Al-Shadadi is on roads linking Islamic State positions in Hasakah Province and Deir ez-Zor Province to the south.

Assad to Dutch TV: “All Evidence of Our Torturing of Civilians is Politicized”

In his latest interview with foreign media, President Assad has repeatedly denied any regime abuse of civilians, blaming all violence and destruction on “terrorists”.

Now see Syria Feature: Assad — “All Evidence of Our Torturing of Civilians is Politicized”

Report: Russian Airstrikes Kill 21 Civilians in Raqqa

A Syrian media activist says Russian airstrikes have killed at least 21 civilians and injured 11 in the Islamic State’s center of Raqqa in northern Syria.

Ghareb al-Omawi, a member of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, said two firefighters were among those killed in attacks that hit several buildings in residential areas.

Russia also hit opposition-held areas in northwest Syria overnight, including Tal Rifa’at, Azaz, Mare’, and al-Ziyara: