Militants from the Jebhat al-Nusra and Islamic State (IS) terrorist organizations (both banned in Russia) freely cross the border between Syria and Turkey, and this contributes to deterioration of the situation, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday.
“This allows terrorists to replenish their units with militants, make up for losses in weapons and military equipment, deliver ammunition, which leads to increase of their military capabilities and attempts to capture new territories,” Shoigu said.
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. The ceasefire regime does not cover the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations as well as other groups ruled terrorist by the Security Council.