U.S. military activates communication channel with Russia on Syria

TheUnited States has contacted Russia amid the escalation in Syria. This was stated by the official spokesman of the US Department of Defense Patrick Ryder at a briefing on December 2.

"The CJTFOIR commander has utilized the hotline that we have with Russia to ensure that we have open lines of communication given the fact that we have forces operating in fairly close geographic proximity to Syria," he said.

The United States will continue to communicate with countries to maintain a channel of communication on the situation in Syria, he said.

Earlier, on December 2, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi that Ankara, Tehran and Moscow are about to hold a meeting in the Astana format on the situation in Syria. Fidan pointed out that it is very important for Damascus that the participants in the meeting express their views sincerely.

On the same day, the Syrian army's General Command said that the Arab republic's military together with Russia's Air and Space Forces (AFS) eliminated more than 400 terrorists in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. The militaries of the two countries continue to carry out missile and air strikes on the positions of Islamist groups.

On December 1, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad emphasized that the Arab republic is capable of defeating terrorists with the help of allies and friends and will do it with the language of force.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called the activation of terrorists in Syria part of the US plan against the backdrop of Israel's defeat in Lebanon. In turn, the White House denied its involvement in what is happening. In addition, Britain, the U.S., France and Germany called on all parties in Syria to de-escalate.

On November 28, the Syrian ministry reported that terrorist groups launched a major attack in Aleppo and Idlib, and the Syrian army began to repel it, causing serious damage to the equipment and manpower of militants.