Syrian civil war

Russia has conducted its first airstrike against ISIS in Syria, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
The airstrike targeted ISIS military equipment, communications centers, vehicles and ammunition, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, as part of pinpoint strikes against ISIS ground targets.

Russian warplanes carried out air strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft on Sept. 30, a debut move that came hours after a Russian mandate on the issue and following Moscow's sharp diplomatic moves to back Bashar al-Assad against "terrorism."

Russian warplanes have launched their first strikes on Syrian opposition targets, Fox News and Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The airstrikes, carried out by a "couple" of Russian bombers, were launched at targets near the city of Homs, located about 100 km east of a Russian naval base in Tartus, according to a senior US military official, Fox News said.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) has outlined a prospective foreign policy that would engage both "the Syrian administration" and "the Syrian opposition" in a departure from the Turkish government's current course.

"We will not take sides in the ongoing war in Syria," the CHP said in its election manifesto, which was announced by leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu on Sept. 30.

Russia has carried out its first air strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, U.S. officials said Russian warplanes targeted opponents of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the area around the city of Homs, and that Washington was informed in advance that this would happen.

The Russian parliament on Sept.30 unanimously granted President Vladimir Putin the right to deploy the country's military in Syria, a move a top Kremlin aide said related only to the air force. 

The Russian Federation Council has voted to approve the use of the country's army in military operations abroad, RIA Novosti agency has said.

No region had been initially specified, but officials later explained the move referred to Syria.

This year?s New York City gathering of world leaders was the fifth U.N. General Assembly the defiant leader of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad, could survive despite numerous crimes he has committed against humanity since 2011. Under the shield of Russia and Iran, the Assad regime seems to have taken a deep breath as it has never been so close to fully collapsing as earlier this year. 

The United States and Russia have agreed on "some fundamental principles" for Syria, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sept. 29, but the gap between the two world powers on the role of Bashar al-Assad in the future of the war-torn country remains vast after a key meeting between the two countries. 

Russia hopes for a dialogue with the United States on resolving crises and notes the readiness of the two governments to jointly seek a settlement in Syria, Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.