Russia says talks under way to agree freeze in fighting in Aleppo province
The United States has demanded that a collapsed ceasefire be reinstated in Aleppo after violence spiked in the province leading to many deaths
A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike on 27 April, 2016 in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo (AFP)
Published date: 1 May 2016 14:10 BST
|
Last update: 7 years 11 months ago
Russia said Sunday that talks were under way to agree a freeze in fighting in Aleppo province after the United States demanded that the Syrian government halt their bombardment there.
"Currently active negotiations are under way to establish a 'regime of silence' in Aleppo province," Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, head of Moscow's coordination centre in Syria, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
He also said that a freeze in fighting in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb to the east of the capital Damascus, had been extended by another 24 hours, by the end of Sunday.
A "regime of silence" was also holding in northern Latakia province, Kuralenko said, said speaking from Russia's Hmeimim air base.
"We are calling on all sides interested in establishing peace in Syria to support the Rusisan-American initiative and not to allow a regime of silence to be disrupted," Kuralenko said.
The announcement came after Moscow said Saturday it would not ask the Syrian government to halt air raids on the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, as it believes they are helping to combat militant groups.
Last week Washington appealed to Moscow to keep the Damascus government in check and the United States also expressed outrage over a deadly air strike on an Aleppo hospital.
Aleppo, capital of the northern province of the same name, is a key battleground and of vital strategic significance to both sides in the Syrian civil war.
A truce was called in February between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and a coalition of rebels but that has since begun to break down, particularly in the besieged city of Aleppo.
Aleppo was left out of a new temporary US-Russian brokered truce that appeared to be holding in the government stronghold of Latakia as well as Damascus and the nearby rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta.
Stay informed with MEE's newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
