Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov has declined to comment on the data suggesting that U.S. President Barack Obama promised Vladimir Putin back at the beginning of September to ensure the separation of the ‘moderate opposition’ and terrorists in Syria over a period of seven days and to give a carte blanche to Russia for resumption of combat actions in Aleppo if the separation did not happen.
“I don’t have any comment on this,” Peskov told TASS when a reporter asked him if the information was true to fact.
The story was revealed earlier in the day by the Canadian political scientist Piotr Dutkiewicz, who addressed a question on this to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov.
“I’ve obtained the information I don’t actucally know to what degree it’s true but I’d like to ask you to comment on it,” Duitkiewicz said. “It concerns a meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama in Hangzhou, China, in September. It was devoted to ceasefire in Aleppo.”
Under his version of the event, the U.S. made a proposal to Putin to establish a seven-day ceasefire. Simultaneously, Russia and Syria were supposed to set up a humanitarian corridor while the U.S. would separate the opposition and terrorists.
“Mr. Putin hestitated and then asked, well, why is the time slot so small and will you have enough time to separate them,” Dutkiewicz said. “And the Americans believably told him I don’t actually know if that’s true there would be enough time. And if there wouldn’t be, they would simply give the Russians a carte blanche to resume combat operations in and around Aleppo.”