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Kremlin against Merkel's proposal to create no-fly zone over Syria's Aleppo

The proposal to create a no-fly zone along the Syrian-Turkish border has been earlier voiced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Damaged building in Aleppo, Syria Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP
Damaged building in Aleppo, Syria
© Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. Imposing no-fly zones in Syria’s Aleppo will not help the fight against terrorism in the country, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"The case is that active actions are conducted there aimed at fighting against terrorist organizations hiding in those areas," Peskov reminded. "That’s why such regimes will hardly contribute to efficiency of our fight against terrorism," he stressed.

The proposal to create a no-fly zone along the Syrian-Turkish border has been earlier voiced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said the attacks carried out by Russia and Syrian government forces were not in line with the resolution passed by the UN Security Council in December and the efforts to reduce the violence.

Merkel said it would be good if Assad, his allies and the anti-Islamic State coalition reached an agreement ensuring the creation of "a kind of no-fly zone" to protect civilians from bombings on the territory between Aleppo and the Turkish border.

The United States has not backed the proposal on no-fly zones in Syria. Spokesman for the US-led military campaign against Islamic State Army Colonel Steve Warren said Wednesday it was not the right time for a no-fly zone over northern Syria. He also said the creation of these zones would be costly in terms of equipment and personnel.

Russia has been conducting airstrikes against terrorists in Syria since September 30, 2015 at the request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.