“We as one Syrian people can not accept aid at a time when global organizations can not send aid to other cities under siege”.
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The top United States and Russian diplomats make clear they have yet to overcome differences on a Syrian ceasefire plan, but both Kerry and Lavrov say a solution is very near. “There is no agreement at this time”, Cook said on Friday.
Before starting talks with Kerry in the Swiss city, Lavrov told reporters that he would avoid any comments on possible obstacles to the regulation process of the conflict.
“Until we have, neither of us are prepared to make an announcement that is predicated for failure”.
“We do not want to make an announcement. that is not enforceable, that doesn’t have details worked out, that winds up in the place that the last two announcements have wound up”, Kerry said.
The US Secretary said Russian and American diplomats were planning to meet in Geneva in the coming days to continue hashing out a deal that would hopefully lead to a sustained truce.
But the U.S. and Russian Federation have a common foe in IS, and they have been in contact on efforts to establish military cooperation against the group.
A key concern for Russian Federation is the fact that the Nusra Front- which recently changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – has in many cases teamed up with moderate rebels that the USA supports.
“Without a delineation between normal, healthy opposition forces and terrorists, I see no possibility of reaching a long-term and comprehensive cessation of hostilities”, Lavrov said.
“We are close”, Kerry said.
In the days ahead, technical teams comprising of USA and Russian military and intelligence experts will decide which opposition groups they can work with, the Reuters news agency reported.
On Thursday, August 25, the United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura described the meeting as “important” and said it could help his drive to resume peace negotiations for the country.
This yielded tangible progress for the Syrian people well into March, and had given unprecedented momentum to intra-Syrian talks seeking to broker a political end to the five-year conflict.
Both Kerry and Lavrov stressed the need for fresh talks to find a political solution to the crisis.
Aleppo, Syria’s second city and former economic hub, has emerged as a top concern since regime troops seized control of the last supply route into rebel-held areas in mid-July. De Mistura also wants immediate agreement on a complete, 48-hour pause in fighting in the divided city of Aleppo, where rebels and the government have blocked each other’s access routes to humanitarian aid for more than a million civilians stranded under brutal air and ground fire.
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The talks came as opposition groups effectively surrendered the Damascus suburb of Daraya to the regime after a grueling four-year siege. By reaching a deal with Russian Federation, which supports Syrian Assad, Washington hopes that it will help launch talks on a political transition in Syria.
