In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather in a street that was hit by shelling, in the predominantly Christian and Armenian neighborhood of Suleimaniyeh, Aleppo, Syria, April 11, 2015.
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The rebels say they will not return to talks, pencilled in for February 25, unless government sieges and air strikes end.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said there were “no illusions” about the difficulty of implementing a nationwide “cessation of hostilities” as he announced the deal in Munich alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
He said the Russian targets on that day had been at least 20 km (12 miles) from the city.
USA says the March 1 deadline proposed by Russian Federation would be too late.
Abu Mohammed, the commander, warned the USA not to interfere: “We are steadfast”, he insisted.
As they began their meeting at a Munich hotel, Kerry declined to speculate on whether an agreement could be reached.
Asked about proposals by some Arab countries to enter the conflict under a United States command, Medvedev said, “that would be bad because ground offensives usually lead to wars becoming permanent”. “We will talk about all aspects of the conflict”.
A meeting of the International Syria Support Group will be held in Munich on Thursday. That task force will include members of the military along with representatives from countries that are supporting various armed groups in Syria.
A Syrian government offensive around the city of Aleppo backed by Russian airstrikes has sent tens of thousands fleeing to the Turkish border, putting peace talks in Geneva in jeopardy.
One of those steps is to expand humanitarian aid in Syria immediately. The officials requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about private diplomatic discussions in the run-up to the Munich conference.
A failure to get the Syrian regime in the same room as the opposition would mean more death and misery for thousands of people in Syria – and drive more to seek safety in neighboring countries and Europe.
The two sides traded accusations on Thursday about bombing in Aleppo, with the Pentagon claiming two hospitals had been destroyed, and Moscow saying USA planes had struck the city – which was flatly denied by Washington. Russian defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Turkey’s government says a further 600,000 may follow, hoping to make their way to the European Union.
It bolstered its forces in Syria recently, dispatching its most advanced military jet – the Sukhoi-35S – to join its strike force of around 40 fast jets.
Intensive Russian air strikes have crushed rebel positions, allowing the army and allied Lebanese and Iranian fighters to come close to encircling Aleppo – Syria’s largest city before the war – half of which has been in rebel hands for years.
Regaining control of Aleppo, which has largely been under rebel control since mid-2012, would mark a possible turning point in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s drive to crush his opponents.
“Turkey has been abandoned in the face of this human tragedy”, he said.
“The geopolitical change is incredible”, said former Israeli air-force Brigadier-General Avraham Asael.
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“The goal is to totally liberate Aleppo and then to seal the northern border with Turkey”, said Ivan Konovalov, director of the Center for Strategic Trend Studies in Moscow, explaining the Russian government thinking. The uprising against Assad’s government started in March 2011.
