Obama calls up Putin, asks him to stop Russian jets bombing Syria

McCain said it was “no accident” that Russian President Vladimir Putin had chosen this moment for a deal.

The U.S. and Russian Federation early this week will chair a meeting in Geneva to decide which areas of Syria can be targeted by air strikes.

It would seem like an opportune time for Putin to pitch for a thaw in ties with the West, or at least make a case for two things he wants: relief from sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union over Russia’s role in the war that has killed more than 9,000 people in eastern Ukraine, and an end to criticism of its bombing campaign in Syria.

Medvedev made the comments during an appearance at the Munich Security Conference, a high-level event attended by dozens of world leaders and senior diplomats.

For Russia, the decision to opt for a cessation of hostilities also shows an acknowledgement that pressing on with a full-scale military offensive would have risked provoking a backlash, according to Lukyanov.

Medvedev also dismissed the allegations that Russian warplanes are bombing civilians in Syria.

But the main reason that Putin is not going to Munich may be that he just doesn’t think he needs to.

Since intervening in the Syrian conflict in September, Russia has pursued a devastating air campaign from Hmeymim air base in Syria’s Latakia province, which has helped swing momentum in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Hopes of securing a temporary truce in Syria within a week dimmed Saturday as Syrian government forces tightened the noose around rebel-held parts of Aleppo and Russia’s foreign minister put the chances of a quick truce at less than 50 percent.

The Cold War scorecard for the region was kept in terms of how many security agreements and arms deals there were with the United States and the USSR respectively.

The International Syria Support Group comprised of about 20 countries and organizations that met in Munich on February 11 agreed to ensure a ceasefire in Syria within a week and to deliver relief aid to that country torn by a civil war in the past five year.

The comments came after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference that “Russia’s rhetoric, posture and exercises of its nuclear forces are aimed at intimidating its neighbors, undermining trust and stability in Europe”. In a new statement from Russian Federation, the country warns of a “new world war” in light of the failed peace talks. Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia’s upper parliament house, said she does not expect a “breakthrough” and blamed the West in advance.

The conflict in Ukraine needs to be regulated by the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the prime minister said, RIA Novosti reported.

He told the AP it was also a positive “first step” that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members have mostly stopped cuts to their defense budgets and were working toward NATO’s expectation that its members spend 2 percent of GDP on defense – a goal few meet. “Just look at what happened in Afghanistan and many other countries”.

“To date, the vast majority, in our opinion, of Russia’s attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups”.

Kirill has strongly supported Putin at home in Russian Federation, even offering crystal-clear backing in the 2012 election that returned him to the Kremlin.

Kerry emphasised that sanctions on Russian Federation would remain in place until it implemented all aspects of the Ukraine peace agreement reached in Belarus’ capital Minsk past year. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.