TENSIONS

Obama Urges Russia to End Syria Assault

Asks Putin to stop bombing ‘moderate’ rebels.

President Barack Obama implored Russian President Vladimir Putin to end a bombing campaign against “moderate” rebels in Syria on Sunday. Last week in Munich major powers agreed to a limited cessation of hostilities in Syria, but the deal is not expected to take effect until the end of this week. Russian airstrikes targeting rebel groups have helped President Bashar al-Assad’s military in the battle for Aleppo, the country’s largest city before the five-year-old war began. The Kremlin confirmed Putin and Obama agreed to work together to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria, but said Moscow would remain committed to its campaign against ISIS and “other terrorist organizations.”