MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the Russian mission to the UN submitted a request to the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee to include Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam organizations in the Daesh and al-Qaeda Sanctions List. Riyadh-backed HNC includes representatives of both militant groups.
“If Russia has power to do so, well, they can do so and try to convince others… This is a form of pressure on HNC in order to come back to the negotiations while the bombardment is still on. The talks were suspended for this particular reason, for breach of the cessation of hostilities,” Aridi said.
If the Russian move is supported by other SC members, airstrikes against Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam will be allowed by the agreement on the cessation of hostilities, as the truce that came into effect in Syria on February 27 excludes terrorist organizations.
