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Lavrov, Kerry discuss possible US-Russia cooperation in Syria

Instead, the coalition says, Russian Federation has concentrated its attention on targeting the Syrian opposition.

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In a “flash update ” on Tuesday, the aid agency, OCHA, said figures from a camp coordination group show almost half of the displaced from Hama have arrived in the neighboring rebel-held Idlib province. Previously, officials suggested Kerry wouldn’t travel to the Swiss city unless a deal was clearly at hand.

Mohammed Abu Jaafar, head of a forensic department in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, said the teenager had died of suffocation and respiratory burns.

But Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, said on Wednesday it would reject any deal struck by Russian Federation and the United States that was very different from its own proposed transition group.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “deeply concerned” about the Turkish operation in Syria, which began two weeks ago.

“The secretary remains committed to continuing efforts to try and resolve the outstanding issues in order to reach an arrangement on Syria. but we won’t agree to an arrangement that does not meet our core objectives”, Toner said.

Rebels surprised government troops earlier this month, dislodging them from areas around the provincial capital, also called Hama, including a military base and towns and villages near the highway leading to Damascus. The Russian and the Syrian air forces are the only two operating over Aleppo.

And with fierce fighting raging in Aleppo, the world’s chemical weapons watchdog voiced concern on Wednesday over the alleged use of toxic chemicals in the flashpoint city.

The White Helmets have lost over 137 personnel in the line of duty, many in “double tap” attacks, where warplanes strike targets twice to maximize casualties as crowds gather.

Riyad Hijab, the group’s general coordinator, presented a political transition plan at a meeting in London.

Johnson on Wednesday used a newspaper column to back the High Negotiations Committee’s plan that calls for the departure within six months of Syrian President Bashar Assad, followed by a shift to constitutional rule and free elections. The US suspects Russian Federation is holding out to give the Assad regime more time to capture rebel-held parts of the city, giving them a stronger claim to it when any future truce comes into effect. He says Assad bears “overwhelming responsibility” for the massive loss of life in Syria.

The Russian foreign minister said he would also speak to his Japanese counterpart later in the day.

The relatively new British foreign minister will host a Friends of Syria meeting in London later on Wednesday.

Kerry has also faced criticism for attempting to make a deal with Russian Federation, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the US Secretary of State explained that he views the talks as an opportunity to end the five-year civil war in the Arab nation.

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The opposition hopes new talks would result in an 18-month transition that would see Syria governed by a transitional body made up of opposition figures, current government representatives and members of civil society, according to a 25-page blueprint.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov right and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talk during their meeting in Moscow