Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Tuesday the double standards adopted by the international community in combating terrorism, saying that they “overlook certain forms of terror due to their personal interests.”

He said during a conference on terrorism held in Maarab: “How can these powers combat the Islamic State group and still remain silent over the regime of Bashar Assad?”

A Syrian Kurd representative defended Monday the proclamation of a Kurdish federal region in northern Syria, saying it was not meant to be autonomous and only for Kurds.

The Kurds and their allies unilaterally proclaimed a federal region in the war-ravaged country last week, but critics said it would undermine Syria's unity and lead to its partition.

Peace talks to end the war in Syria entered their second week on Monday, with Damascus under U.N. pressure to meet a looming target date for making a concrete proposal on political transition.

United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura says that before negotiations are paused on Thursday he wants the Syrian regime to set down on paper its vision for a new government for leading the country out of five years of brutal conflict.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini kicked off on Monday an official visit to Lebanon by holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and later Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, with the Syrian refugee crisis at the heart of discussions.

Bassil emphasized that Lebanon's constitution “prohibits the naturalization of Syrian refugees.”

Dozens of Syrian rebel factions on Friday condemned a Kurdish declaration of a federal region in the war-ravaged country's north as a step towards partition.

"We categorically reject the declaration... regarding an autonomously-run or federal region in northern Syria and we consider it to be a dangerous step aimed at partitioning Syria," some 70 rebel factions said in a statement posted online.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned that Russia could ramp up its military presence in Syria within "several hours" if needed, as he urged all sides of the conflict to respect a ceasefire.

"If there's a need, Russia literally within several hours can ramp up its presence in the region to the size required for the unfolding situation and use the whole arsenal of possibilities we have at our disposal," Putin said in the Kremlin.

Syria's Kurds declared a federal region in the country's north Thursday, in a move that risks complicating already fragile talks underway in Geneva to end the country's brutal five-year conflict.

More than 150 delegates from Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian and other parties meeting in the Syrian town of Rmeilan agreed to create a "federal system" unifying territory run by Kurds across several Syrian provinces.

Russian helicopters pounded jihadist positions around the ancient city of Palmyra on Tuesday as Syrian troops pressed a ground advance, a monitoring group said.

"Russian helicopters and warplanes, that are likely Russian, are bombarding Islamic State group positions near Palmyra," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

A ceremonial flypast, pilots tossed in the air in celebration and dozens of cheering supporters -- the first Russian warplanes on Tuesday returned home to a hero's welcome as part of the withdrawal of armed forces from Syria.

Several Su-34 strike fighters landed at an airbase outside the city of Voronezh located some 580 kilometers (360 miles) southeast of Moscow after performing a fly-past for top commanders, relatives and supporters.

U.N. investigators on Tuesday welcomed a "significant decrease" in Syrian violence on the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict, saying they finally glimpsed hope of an end to the war.

"Now, for the first time, there is hope of an end in sight," Paulo Pinheiro, head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told reporters in Geneva.