General Staff: Ankara Derailing Syrian Ceasefire by 'Nourishing Terrorists'

Turkey continues having a negative influence on the cessation of hostilities in Syria by supporting terrorists, the head of Russia’s General Staff said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A ceasefire, which was brokered by Russia and the United States, came into effect in war-torn Syria on February 27, uniting the government and opposition in a bid to restore peace in the country. Only terrorist groups are not covered by the truce.

"Ankara’s nourishment of terrorists with weapons, munitions and medicines continues being a destabilizing factor which has a significant negative influence on the reconciliation process," Gen. Valery Gerasimov said at the fifth Moscow Conference on International Security.

The official added that despite the persisting terrorism activity and "derailing actions of the Turkish authorities," the Russian reconciliation center continued its work to reconcile the warring parties, collect information on ceasefire violations and provide humanitarian aid to civilians.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition groups, including the Western-backed allegedly moderate factions, as well as terrorist formations.

The Syrian authorities have repeatedly accused Turkey of helping extremists including by engaging in oil trade, while the Russian Defense Ministry provided satellite images showing oil being smuggled from Daesh-controlled oil fields in Syria to Turkey.