Russian military police in Syria's safe zones to be equipped with small arms

The Russian military police, which will be deployed to Syria’s safe zones, will be equipped with small arms only, head of the Russian delegation at the Astana talks on Syria and Russian Presidential Envoy for the Syrian Settlement, Alexander Lavrentiev, said on Wednesday.


"The decision on specific units, which will be involved as part of the de-escalation control forces, has not been made yet," he said. "However, one can safely say that the Russian military police will be an important part of these units, which will be deployed to the safe zones along the de-escalation zones."

"These are not regular army’s combat units but units with specific non-combat tasks," Lavrentiev noted. "However, they will, naturally, have some small arms for self-defense."

The diplomat added that "intense work is in progress with the opposition groups on the ground."

"We are receiving more and more assurances from local opposition groups, which are prepared not to use force against peacekeepers. Moreover, they are ready to take them under their protection," he said.
[tass.com]
5/7/17