Russia and the United States are close to starting joint military action against militants in Syria’s Aleppo, Russian news agencies on Monday quoted Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying. Fighting for control of the divided city of some 2 million people has intensified in recent weeks and there have been some gains for rebel groups battling Syrian government forces. Russia backs Syrian President Bashar al Assad in the five-year-old Syria conflict, while the United States wants to see Assad step down. But both are participating in talks to try to find a political solution to end the civil war.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-usa-idUSKCN10Q176
