Syria humanitarian situation 'intolerable': Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Feb. 17 described the humanitarian situation in Syria as "intolerable" and reiterated her call for a no-fly zone to protect civilians, AFP reports.
"It would be helpful if there were an area in Syria where none of the parties to the conflict launched aerial attacks," Merkel told German parliament.
"We can't negotiate with the terrorists of the Islamic State, but if we were able to reach an agreement between anti- and pro-Assad forces on a kind of no-fly zone, in the sense of a sanctuary for the many refugees, then this would save many lives and aid the political process about Syria's future," she said.
Aid arrives in besieged Syrian town of Moadamiya al-Sham
The first of several convoys carrying aid to besieged areas of Syria has arrived at its destination, the BBC reports.
Thirty-five trucks have entered the town of Moadamiya al-Sham, near the Syrian capital Damascus, the Syrian Red Crescent told the BBC.
Aid trucks have begun leaving Damascus: Red Cross
A spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross has told the BBC that aid trucks have begun leaving Damascus, heading for a number of besieged villages and towns.
The trucks are heading to rebel-held Madaya, Zabadani and Moadamiya al-Sham near Damascus -- all besieged by the Syrian government.
Aid trucks are also traveling to the Shi'ite villages of Fua and Kefraya, which are blockaded by rebel forces including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra Front.
Turkey won't stop shelling Syrian YPG: Erdogan
Turkey's President Erdogan has made several comments on the Syrian crisis and on Russia's intervention:
Russia. U.S. military to discuss Syria ceasefire on Feb. 19: Interfax
The Russian and U.S. militaries will meet on Feb. 19 as part of a working group to discuss the implementation of a ceasefire in Syria, Interfax has reported, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.
Other countries from the International Syria Support Group will also attend the meeting, Gatilov said.
Gatilov also said that decisions on a no-fly zone over a part of northern Syria could not be made without agreement from the United Nations and the Syrian government.
Russia won't get bogged down in Syria: Kremlin spokesman
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia will not get bogged down in Syria because it is carrying out specific tasks there that have already seen concrete results, Interfax reports.
Russia's line in Syria was "consistent, clear and transparent," Peskov said.
After hospital attack, Damascus says MSF is cover for French intelligence in Syria
Responding to international outrage after yesterday's strikes that killed 11 people and destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Marat al-Numan in Syria's Idlib province, Syria's UN envoy slammed not those who carried out the attack -- widely thought to have been Russia -- but Doctors Without Borders.
"The so-called hospital was installed without any prior consultation with the Syrian government by the so-called French network called MSF which is a branch of the French intelligence operating in Syria," said Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, according to AFP.
"They assume the full consequences of the act because they did not consult with the Syrian government," Jaafari added.
"They did not operate with the Syrian government permission."
PKK leader tells RIA Novosti that Turkey supports jihadists in Syria
In a move that is guaranteed to annoy Turkey, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has published comments from Murat Karayılan, one of the co-founders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist group.
Karayılan, who is commander in chief of the PKK's armed wing, alleged that Ankara is supporting Syrian groups including the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
"Together with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey has supported jihadist groups [in Syria], which have spun off from Al-Qaeda. The Justice and Development Party has an ideological kinship with Salafist groups that are Al-Qaeda offshoots. These states supported and armed radical Salafist groups in Syria, who are working to build Shari'a law," Karayilan was quoted as saying.
"Against this background, the Syrian Kurds from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and other Kurdish forces are very different because of their modern, secular outlook on life and state building. This is the reason for the hatred the jihadists have toward the Syrian Kurds," he added.
Karayilan argued that if Syria's Kurds establish an independent state, then the 20 million Kurds living in Turkey will want to do the same.