U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will push to secure an immediate Syrian ceasefire and aid for civilians ahead of a crucial meeting in Munich this week as he seeks to keep a fragile peace process alive, U.S. officials said.
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Meanwhile, the offensive continues on Syria’s biggest city, Aleppo, a rebel territory under bombardment by the Russian-backed Syrian military, complicating the already hard task of convincing President Bashar Assad’s government to negotiate honestly with the opposition.
United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura last week announced a three-week pause in the Geneva talks, the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria’s war in two years.
The Russians are supporting a Syrian effort to close off the borders of both Turkey in the north and Jordan in the south, where Russian warplanes are supporting a Syrian offensive against a U.S.-backed opposition group.
“It seems as if we’re only halfheartedly going after ISIS, and halfheartedly helping the (rebel) Free Syria Army and others on the ground”, said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.
Kerry said in an interview with David Ignatius, a journalist at The Washington Post, that he has hoped Moscow would realise that reaching a peaceful solution would guarantee a political transition that would serve its interests since the beginning of the Russian intervention in the Syrian conflict.
Steinmeier is to host on Thursday a meeting of foreign ministers from the U.S., Russian Federation and regional powers including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey in the southern German city of Munich, a day before the 52nd Munich Security Conference.
Kerry said Monday after meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir that the USA and its allies are “deeply engaged” in trying to move toward “full humanitarian access and a full cease-fire”.
“Before we go on February 25 those measures should be implemented in reality on the land”, Riad Hijab, chief coordinator of the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told reporters in London.
Kerry’s approach, which will need Russia’s backing to succeed, is aimed at giving the opposition enough breathing space so that they come back to the negotiating table following the suspension of peace talks in Geneva last week.
The official said the United States has concerns about some elements of the Russian proposal. On the other side, Iran says the Saudis – not Iran, Russia or Assad – are the major obstacle to peace. “There are some countries that it seems don’t want peace to be restored in Syria”, a senior official involved in the Syria talks said.
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The Kremlin rejects claims that it has abandoned diplomacy in pursuit of a military solution, saying it would continue to providing military aid to Assad to fight “terrorist groups” and accusing Syria’s opposition of walking away from the talks.
