SOCHI, May 6. /TASS/. The actions of the Russian Aerospace Force remaining units in Syria take into account the need to preserve the fragile truce in the region, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday.
Thus he commented on media reports about a recent airstrike on a refugee camp in the Idlib province in the north of Syria, the possible involvement of Russia’s Aerospace Forces in the attack, as well as about how this airstrike could affect the ceasefire regime.
"Russia and the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria act with utmost responsibility in Syria in order not to damage the fragile atmosphere of truce. Russia has repeatedly demonstrated this and calls on all other sides to share this responsible and cautious approach," Peskov said.
It was reported previously that at least 30 people were killed and more than 80 injured as a refugee camp in Syria's Idlib province near Turkey’s border was hit by an airstrike on Thursday.
The Russian presidential press secretary declined to answer the question is the Russian Aerospace Forces were involved in that airstrike, readdressing it to the Russian Defense Ministry, "as it has the information about when and where our aircraft perform their tasks within the framework of the ongoing operation."
Asked to clarify if the media reports on the involvement of the Russian forces in such operations could threaten the process of the peace negotiations on Syria, Peskov said that "it’s a matter of facts, if there were no Russian planes and they did not operate there, then it’s another wave of disinformation."
Peskov also said that the issue of maintaining the ceasefire regime in Syria is constantly raised in contacts between Moscow and Damascus. "The Russian side is in permanent contact with the Syrian leadership, and the issue of truce, the preservation of the ceasefire regime is raised all the time in contacts with our Syrian partners," he said, answering a question if Russia planned to use its influence on Syrian President Bashar Assad for promoting truce in the region.
Kremlin urges distinction between anti-terrorism struggle and ceasefire in Syria
The Kremlin is urging a clear distinction between the tasks of struggle against terrorism and the observance of ceasefire in Syria.
"There must be no confusion regarding the task of struggle against terrorism. Nobody has ever said that the war on terror will come to an end," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The offensive operations against terrorists will continue, of course," he said.
However, in his opinion "it is an entirely different matter that ceasefire should be promoted in every possible way and actions that may harm the just-established fragile truce should be avoided."
"We are aware of the main problems - those in Aleppo and in other regions, where terrorist groups and representatives of the so-called moderate opposition are tightly mixed up," Peskov said, adding that such a state of affairs "creates great problems."