DAMASCUS, April 10. /TASS/. The Russian Aerospace Forces and Syria’s military are preparing a joint operation aimed at the liberation of the city of Aleppo, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halki said on Sunday at a meeting with a delegation of Russian parliamentarians comprising Alexander Yushchenko, Sergei Gavrilov and Dmitry Sablin.
"We, together with our Russian partners are preparing an operation to liberate Aleppo and block all illegal armed groups that have not joined the ceasefire agreement or violated it," he said.
According to previous reports, militants of the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, not covered by the Russian-US agreement on ceasefire in Syria, continue armed provocations in a number of Syrian governorates against civilians and government troops.
The Russian center for reconciliation of the warring sides in Syria said in a news bulletin that more than 1,000 militants of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, armed with 7 tanks and 24 all-terrain vehicles with heavy machineguns, are concentrated in the localities of Muheimhandrat, Jandul, Hraitan and Qafr-Hamra (north of Aleppo).
The ceasefire regime took effect in Syria on February 27. Shortly before, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution supporting a cessation of hostilities. The document drafted by Russia and the United States was backed by all 15 Security Council member states.