Moscow, SANA – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that nearly 6000 terrorists affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra organization are fighting in Aleppo, adding that coordination between the organization and the armed groups in several Syrian areas is still standing.

Zakharova made her remarks at a press conference in Moscow, noting that “the most serious situation in Syria is still around Aleppo. According to different estimates, up to 6,000 gunmen are engaged in the operation.”

She pointed out to the close coordination between Jahbat al-Nusra organization and other armed groups in different areas across Syria as well as in the eastern and western parts of Ghouta in Damascus.

The Russian diplomat stated that since the 18th of October, the Russian and Syrian air forces halted airstrikes over the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo.

She pointed out that claims about Russian airstrikes on Damascus Ghouta and Idleb countryside aim at barring attention from the increasing number of victims due to the armed groups’ random shelling and mortar attacks on residential neighborhoods in Homs, Hama, Damascus and other Syrian cities.

Zakharova noted that the effectiveness of the political process to solve the crisis in Syria mainly depends on the success of efforts exerted to prevent the spread of the violence-based ideology of terrorist organizations, stressing that the participation of all Syrians in the political process is essential to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.

She added that the US provides support to armed groups in Syria on claims of being “moderate” groups, meantime, the facts indicate that they are terrorist groups, pointing out that Washington has prevented its allies from issuing a joint statement at the UN Security Council condemning the terrorists’ shelling of the UN headquarters in Aleppo.

At the beginning of October, terrorists from Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood in Aleppo targeted with mortar shells al-Shahba Hotel in the city where the UN and its employees work.

R.Raslan/ Mazen