Following almost ten hours of talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Kerry told reporters that they had “achieved clarity on the path forward” to reimplementing a ceasefire and improving humanitarian access in Syria.
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“If the remaining details can be completed, we believe we will be able to address the two primary challenges to the cessation of hostilities – the regime violations and the increasing influence of the al-Nusra Front”, Kerry said.
“We have a few narrow issues to resolve, and in the next days our experts will be meeting here in Geneva to conclude the remaining technical issues and to move forward in order to take the steps necessary to build the confidence to overcome the deep mistrust that does exist on all sides”, Kerry said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, shake hands during a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016.
Lavrov said after talks with Kerry on Friday that the two had agreed that Russian Federation would continue to work with the Syrian government and opposition groups that cooperate with it, while the United States would continue working with the groups they can influence in Syria and with regional partners.
The talks have been complicated in part by a significant offensive in the southern part of the divided city of Aleppo led by some US -backed opposition groups that are intermingled with the group formerly known as al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria that is also involved in the fight against President Bashar al-Assad.
Lavrov said one of the unresolved issues is the possibility of coordinating air strikes against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria.
“As we have all seen now, violations eventually became the norm rather than the exception”, Kerry said, discussing the original cease-fire reached in February.
“It is really the only viable path towards the peace and security and normalcy that the people of Syria desire and deserve”, he said. “We want a pause for 48 hours”, he said. Last week, the USA had to call for Russian help when Syrian warplanes struck an area not far from where US troops were operating.
In the days ahead the technical teams, which include United States and Russian military and intelligence experts, will try to figure out ways to separate the opposition groups, backed by the U.S. and Gulf Arab countries, from the militant groups.
Friday’s talks came as opposition groups effectively surrendered the Damascus suburb of Daraya to the government after a grueling four-year siege.
The most immediate concern of all sides is the need for humanitarian aid for millions of civilians in the besieged city of Aleppo, which has been the focal point of fighting much of the year.
Referring to Daraya, Lavrov said: “This is an example I think will get some following”.
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