Russia has accused the U.S. of supporting militant groups in a rebel-held pocket of Syria, with one leading Russian senator calling on the Pentagon to join Moscow in bombarding the besieged bastion of insurgent control. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied the U.S.’s claim on Wednesday that Russian and Syrian warplanes were targeting civilians amid a mounting death toll in eastern Ghouta, one of the last suburbs of Damascus held by armed groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian military, backed by the Russian air force and various Iran-backed militias, has recently renewed a violent campaign to retake the area from a mix of jihadi and rebel groups, some of which have received U.S. support. Related: Turkey mulls talks to avoid war as Russia and U.S. allies chant “One Syria” Syria and its allies—Russia and Iran—have blamed these forces and their alleged international sponsors for the deteriorating humanitarian crisis there. “Those supporting terrorists who are still active in eastern Ghouta are responsible for the situation there,” Peskov said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency . “Neither Russia nor Syria nor Iran are among these countries, but it is they who have been… Read full this story
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