Crucial negotiations between the United States and Russia on a plan to stem the violence in war-ravaged Syria are continuing in Switzerland where U.S. Secretary John Kerry and his Russian counterpart are working on another effort to enlist Moscow as a partner in resolving the crisis. “We are agreeing the time at the moment”, the source said.
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The top USA and Russian diplomats make clear they have yet to overcome differences on a Syrian ceasefire plan, but both Kerry and Lavrov say a solution is very near.
They also indicate that separating US-backed rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front has been one of the sticking points in the talks.
Kerry said he and Lavrov had agreed on the “vast majority” of technical discussions on steps to reinstate a cease-fire and improve humanitarian access.
Russian Federation last week gave its blessing to a long-demanded 48-hour pause in fighting in the city to allow in aid, but de Mistura said on Thursday other unspecified parties were still dragging their feet.
“We are ready, trucks are ready and they can leave anytime we get that message”, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva, where negotiations on humanitarian aid delivery and a cessation of hostilities are under way.
He refused to take questions, but his comments appeared to refer to rebel groups supported by western and Gulf powers opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose main external supporter is Russian Federation. Kerry said the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has conducted a continued aerial bombardment with barrel bombs and choline gas.
With global organizations and aid groups citing an increasingly dire situation in the key northern city of Aleppo, one focus of the talks was how to suspend the fighting long enough to effectively deliver humanitarian aid.
Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month amid media speculation the two world powers were moving closer to increased intelligence sharing and military cooperation regarding Syria.
“We don’t want to have a deal for the sake of the deal”, he explained.
The three-point plan for Aleppo, which United Nations officials say now needs the approval of two rebel groups and the Syrian government, would involve road convoys both from Damascus and across the Turkish border through the critical Castello Road artery.
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Separately, Syrian rebels and government forces agreed in a deal yesterday to evacuate all residents and insurgents from the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, ending one of the longest standoffs in the five-year conflict.
