Russian Federation has given fresh assurances it has impressed on the Syrian government it must allow aid into rebel-held east Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, but said it needed reassurances that the usa was putting pressure on Syrian opposition groups to abide by their side of the bargain.
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The UN envoy said humanitarian relief deliveries would be focused on besieged neighborhoods in rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo, the city in northern Syria that has seen increased fighting over the past few weeks.
The president emphasized that the USA will not proceed with the next steps in the arrangement with Russian Federation “until we see seven continuous days of reduced violence and sustained humanitarian access”, the White House said. “It is a shame that we are losing time”, Mistura stated.
“It goes without saying that Russia continues using its influence in order to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire agreements and it hopes that our USA counterparts will be doing the same”, he said in remarks carried by the Russian news agency TASS.
If the truce, which began on Monday, lasts seven days and aid access is granted, Russian Federation and the U.S. say they will work together to target ISIL, also known as ISIS, and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
“Our appeal is the following – it’s a simple one”, Mr Egeland said. “Can well-fed, grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural roadblocks in the way of courageous humanitarian workers who are willing and able to go to serve women, children and wounded civilians in besieged and cross-fire areas?”
Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov slammed what he called “rhetorical fog” intended “to hide the fact that the U.S. is not fulfilling its part of the obligations”.
Senior Russian officer Vladimir Savchenko said Friday that government troops have returned to the Castello Road after aborting a pullback because rebels were not withdrawing as agreed. Rebels, however, claimed Syrian troops attacked the area first.
A USA official said the session was canceled because the Russians were trying to force the US make the cease-fire deal public and Washington would “not compromise operational security”.
In New York, the UN Security Council cancelled an urgent meeting that had been called to discuss whether to endorse the truce, billed as the “last chance” to end the five-year war that has killed 300,000 people.
Under the terms of the deal, if peace holds for seven days, Russian Federation and the United States will begin coordinated military strikes against targeted terror groups in the conflict.
Aleppo has been the centre of fighting over past months and Syrian government forces and their allies launched a wide offensive earlier this month, capturing several areas south of the city and putting eastern rebel-held areas under siege.
Earlier, a monitoring group said that the truce, which went into effect on Monday night, was “positive”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the casualties, saying they were two children.
No access to Castello Road means no aid to areas badly hit in Aleppo.
United Nations humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said both the rebels and the government were responsible for delaying aid deliveries into Aleppo.
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The withdrawal will continue till Thursday evening, as UN-backed humanitarian convoys are expected to enter the besieged rebel-held areas on Friday via this route. It also said three shells were fired at the government-held southern village of Hadar.
