In a telephone call to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov the USA secretary of state John Kerry made it plain that America would not conduct joint operations with Russia against ISIL and other extremists unless the Syrian regime allowed humanitarian aid into the cities suffering under long-term siege.
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The United Nations urged Syria’s government Thursday to allow immediate aid deliveries to hunger-stricken civilians after a fragile ceasefire was extended for 48 hours by Russian Federation and the United States.
If the ceasefire holds for seven days, Russian Federation and the U.S. would then coordinate military planning to destroy the Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al Nusra militias.
Syria has said aid can only be delivered to Aleppo if it is coordinated through the government and United Nations.
Lt. Gen. Viktor Poznikhir of the Russian military’s General Staff declared a readiness to extend the cease-fire for another 72 hours, adding that Moscow expects Washington to take “resolute action” to end violations by the USA -backed opposition units to prevent the situation from “spinning out of control”.
The Pentagon said dozens of US Special Operations Forces had been deployed to Syria’s border with Turkey to fight IS, at Ankara’s request, in support of the Turkish military and “vetted” Syrian rebels.
According to the Russian military, Syrian troops withdrew briefly from the Castello Road – the main artery into rebel-held part of Aleppo – to make way for aid convoys, and state-run Syrian TV said bulldozers removed some of the sand and cement barriers.
Mr Kerry warned Moscow that US-Russian joint military planning would not happen until humanitarian aid began to arrive. United Nations officials have blamed the delay on the Syrian government, which has failed to provide the agency with the necessary permits to bring relief convoys from Turkey.
In New York, the United States and Russian Federation have called for a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria.
The opposition has yet to officially sign on, and hours before the ceasefire began Assad said he was committed to recovering all of Syria.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said opposition fighters opened fire at a location along the Castello road that was being prepared for Syrian Arab Red Crescent representatives.
Churkin says: “I think we need to adopt it on the 21st” – a reference to Wednesday’s summit level Security Council meeting on Syria.
Clashes were also reported between troops and insurgents as well as shelling in two areas of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Maj. -Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian defense ministry, said Russian troops watching the road are ready to replace Syrian government troops as soon as opposition forces are ready to pull back.
In its own statement on the call, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused US -backed rebels of violating the ceasefire and of failing to separate themselves from al Nusra as the deal requires.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Friday that airstrikes hit a school serving as a shelter in Deir-Ezzor – nine children were among the almost two dozen civilians killed.
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Government-held areas were shelled in eastern Damascus, wounding three people, Syrian state media said. Even though the current ceasefire specifically says the Castello road should be becoming a demilitarized zone to allow aid in, citizens of Aleppo told Human Rights Watch that nothing has entered the city since Monday.
