Russia Consulate in Aleppo Shelled by 'Terrorists', Says Foreign Ministry

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday denounced an attack on its consulate in Syria's war-ravaged city of Aleppo, accusing jihadists of shelling the compound.

"The building of Russia's Consulate General in Aleppo came under sudden mortar attack on April 28 around 3 pm Moscow time (1200 GMT)," it said in a statement.

"One shell landed inside its grounds... and three more exploded near the fence on the outside. There were no deaths or injuries."

The consulate has not been operating since January 2013 and is manned only by Syrian-national staff, the ministry said, accusing the Al-Qaida linked Al-Nusra Front of targeting the building.

"According to the information we have so far, the attack on the Consulate General was deliberate and carried out by the militants of Jabhat al-Nusra and groups associated with it," it said.

"We decisively condemn this terrorist attack," the ministry said, adding that "we consider it highly important to adequately rebuff such attempts."

It further called for greater coordination of Russia and the U.S. in the 17-nation International Syria Support Group, which oversees a task force on observing the ceasefire in Syria.

The ceasefire, brokered by Russia and U.S. and in place since February 27, has been severely undermined by violence in Aleppo, where dozens of civilians have been killed in recent days, including in a strike on a hospital blamed on the Syrian forces.

Russia on Friday argued it is too early to bury the truce, with Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko, who is tasked with monitoring the truce for Moscow, telling journalists at Russia's Hmeimim base that "all in all, the (ceasefire) regime is being observed, there is no slipping toward restart of combat."