Moscow said Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed yesterday on the need for a ceasefire in Syria and the provision of humanitarian aid to blockaded areas.
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The State Department dismissed on Thursday Russia’s claims that two American warplanes bombed the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.
Russian Defense Ministry denied Thursday its involvement in Wednesday’s bombings in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, that caused the destruction of two hospitals, blaming USA aircraft for the attack instead.
However, he added that to date, the USA had not shown any “willingness to genuinely pressure Russian Federation”.
A truce is seen as critical to resuscitating peace talks between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and the opposition.
Russian Federation boasted of flying more than 510 sorties against almost 1,900 “terrorist facilities” in the last week alone, with Aleppo being a prime target.
Russian Federation has proposed a March 1 cease-fire but Washington believes that will only give Moscow and the Syrian government three weeks to crush moderate rebel groups.
US and other diplomats said the United Nations is expected to have a key role in determining where the aid is most badly needed and guaranteeing it is delivered.
The meeting behind closed doors came ahead of crucial global talks Thursday in Munich to push for Syrian peace negotiations.
Riyadh said it was willing to commit special forces to Syria should a US-led coalition deploy ground troops against Isil. “Obviously, at some point in time, we want to make progress on the issues of humanitarian access and cease-fire”. “We’ll talk about all aspects”. That task force will include members of the military along with representatives from countries that are supporting various armed groups in Syria.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Carter tried to drum up support for accelerating the fight against the militants.
Zoubi said the insurgents were well-financed and armed, naming groups that have received U.S.-made TOW anti-armor missiles, as well as the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, and other jihadists such as the Turkistan Islamic Party.
“The truth is that since the presence of the Russians on Syrian land, they can play the role of mediator in some areas”, Haidar said at his offices in Damascus.
The US has been reluctant to involve itself in another war after the quagmires of Afghanistan and Iraq, and ultimately is more concerned about combating IS than getting involved in the civil war between Syria’s regime and rebels.
“We asked that serious consideration be given to a humanitarian pause to enable assistance to be got through because it’s clear that aid is also not getting through to Madaya and the other besieged areas”. Canada will keep two surveillance planes in the region and conduct aerial refuelling missions.
“The terrorists put down their weapons and try to dissolve in the crowd – they know that Russian warplanes and the Syrian Army would never strike civilians”.
Maj. Yasser Abdul-Rahim, a rebel commander in Aleppo province, told The Associated Press that fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, are clashing with rebels near Mannagh air base.
The Security Council met at the request of New Zealand and Spain to discuss the crisis in Aleppo where tens of thousands of people are fleeing a Syrian government offensive, backed by Russian air power.
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“We have not witnessed such bombardment since the revolution began”, said Abu Thabet, referring to the start of the uprising against Assad’s government in March 2011.
