The attempt to revive a nationwide truce came as nations worked to get Syria’s government and opposition groups back to the table in Vienna, where negotiations to secure a political transition stalled last month. While Kerry was holding talks in Paris, airstrikes and shelling hit several areas in Aleppo, where hundreds of civilians have been killed in recent days, Syrian state media and opposition monitoring groups said.
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The next round of talks “should take place next week”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said as he emerged from a meeting with Kerry, the head of the opposition coalition and leaders from other nations backing the opposition. “They are not actions”, Kerry said.
Washington and Moscow on Monday vowed in a joint statement to “redouble” efforts to end the five-year war in Syria, as regime forces and rebels in the Syrian battleground city of Aleppo agreed to extend a truce for a second time.
Earlier in the day, the USA and Russian Federation issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to a truce.
“But again, the proof will be in the eating of the pudding”, Kerry said. US officials said those localized efforts had made progress in reducing violence and were now being “folded into” the nationwide truce, eliminating the need for incremental extensions in specific cities. Those groups are common enemies of the USA, numerous opposition groups and Assad, but they are fighting in the same areas, making it hard to distinguish which strikes violate the cease-fire and which ones don’t.
Syria’s opposition is hopeful of a return to the Geneva talks if a U.S.-Russian deal on reviving the failed truce is swiftly implemented, a member of Syria’s opposition High Negotiations Committee said on Monday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris, where he was scheduled to meet with Ayrault for a working dinner after the Syria conference.
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That is particularly significant in areas near Aleppo, where fighters from al-Qaida-backed Nusra Front – which is not party to the cease-fire – often operate near strongholds of rebels who are part of the truce.
