Russia Expects SCO, CSTO, CIS States to Join Aleppo Humanitarian Operation

BEIJING (Sputnik) – Russia expects that member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will join the humanitarian operation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday.

"We also called upon our colleagues in defense ministries of countries of SCO, CSTO and CIS to join in helping Syrians. We expect that our kind partners in many countries including China, India, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and others will respond to the Russian proposal and will be able to bring their contribution to stabilization of the humanitarian situation in Syria," Antonov said.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with opposition factions and Islamist terrorist groups fighting the Syrian army. The Russian Aerospace Forces began their operation against terrorists in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.