MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. Officers of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria delivered more than two tonnes of humanitarian aid to the settlement of Rasum al-Zabib, chief of the center, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, said on Thursday.
"The center for reconciliation of the warring parties delivered a total of 2,150 kilograms of humanitarian aid (rice, flour, canned meat, sugar) to people living in the settlement of Rasum al-Zabib in the province of Rif Dimashq. Russian medics offered medical services to 83 people, including 23 children. Local residents thanked the Russian military for the timely-delivered humanitarian aid," he said.
According to Kuralenko, officers of the Russian center jointly with Syrian government troops and leaders of opposition groups acting in the Southern de-escalation zone ensured security of two United Nations humanitarian convoys that delivered 146 tonnes of cargoes to the settlements of Tell Gehab and al-Taiba in the province of Daraa.
He also said that 90 Syrian servicemen are being trained by Russian specialists at the Syrian branch of the International Mine Action Center.
Reconciliation efforts
According to the Russian center, its officers jointly with the Syrian reconciliation ministry continue efforts to have Syrian people return to their homes they fled when the war began. Thus, during the day a total of 60 people returned to the places of their permanent residence in the province of Aleppo (39) and Homs (21) from camps for internally displaced persons.
Senior officers of the Russian center held a working meeting with employees of the United Nations Damascus office to coordinate joint efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to six settlements in the Tell Rifaat and Afrina neighborhoods in the province of Aleppo and settlements in the Deir ez-Zor province.
According to Kuralenko, efforts are continued to convene a congress of Syrian national dialogue. The Russian center calls on Syria’s domestic opposition in the de-escalation zones to take part in the congress.
De-escalation zones in Syria
At the Astana meeting on Syria in May, the Syrian ceasefire guarantor nations (Russia, Iran and Turkey) signed a memorandum on setting up de-escalation zones in the war-torn country.
The three de-escalation zones are in Syria’s southwest, in Eastern Ghouta (Damascus suburbs) and near Homs. The fourth zone covers the Idlib Province and parts of the neighboring Aleppo, Latakia and Hama. Starting from May 6, military activities and aircraft flights in the de-escalation zones were banned.