ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia defended military action it has taken against armed groups in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo. The Kremlin is once again backing the Syrian military in the north of the country near the city, which has led to fears that the ceasefire regime, in place since February 27, could collapse and bring the Geneva peace negotiations down with it. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Alexei Borodavkin, said that Russian action against these armed groups was only taking place since they have not split from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra. Nusra, along with Islamic State (ISIS), is excluded from the ceasefire. "If they [the rebel groups] broke off decisively from Nusra and indicated where their positions are, we could ensure the ceasefire would apply strictly to them," Borodavkin said in a Wednesday interview according to Bloomberg, referring to the Islamist militant groups Army of Islam and Ahrar al-Sham, who have collaborated with Nusra. Syrian attacks on Aleppo backed by Russian airstrikes "are in response to Nusra starting the offensive," Borodavkin added. "We anticipated that opponents of the political settlement would carry out provocations to sabotage the ceasefire and the political process in Geneva." The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that US President Barack Obama called Russian President Vladimir Putin to express his concern about the redeployment of Russian artillery to Syria's north. However a top Russian commander, Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi, said the Syrian military and their Russian backers are only taking military action in the Aleppo region to prevent Nusra from cutting off the main road from Damascus to Aleppo. "No storming of Aleppo is planned," he claimed.
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