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Syria conflict: Powers divided over ceasefire date Syria conflict: Russia submits ceasefire proposal
(about 4 hours later)
A US push for an immediate ceasefire in Syria has run into Russian opposition ahead of talks aimed at reviving stalled peace negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he has submitted a proposal for a ceasefire in Syria, as world powers meet in Munich.
Russia is reportedly calling for a halt to hostilities on 1 March, but the US suspects it wants to give the Syrian army three weeks to crush rebel forces. Mr Lavrov gave no further details about the plan, but it is understood to envisage a truce starting on 1 March.
Russian air strikes have been helping the army make major gains in Aleppo province, displacing 50,000 people. The US is demanding an immediate end to hostilities, as it suspects Russia wants to give Syrian government troops three weeks to crush rebel forces.
World powers will discuss the ceasefire proposal at a meeting in Munich later. Russian air strikes are helping the Syrian army advance in Aleppo province.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, called on them to ensure that talks in Geneva aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict resume as soon as possible. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, wants the world powers to ensure talks in Geneva aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict are reconvened as soon as possible, following their suspension last week.
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The talks were suspended last week while still in the preparatory phase, with both sides blaming each other for the failure to make any progress. "The warring parties in Syria are constantly sinking to new depths, without apparently caring in the slightest about the death and destruction they are wreaking across the country," he said. "It is a grotesque situation."
More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria. Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS).More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria. Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS).
Thursday's meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Munich will bring together both allies and opponents of Mr Assad, including Russia, Iran, the US and Saudi Arabia. Thursday's meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in Munich will bring together 17 countries, including both allies and opponents of Mr Assad.
Before they began, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Moscow was "ready to discuss the modalities of a ceasefire", without giving any further details. Mr Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry met each other before the talks to discuss what the Russian foreign minister described as a "quite specific" ceasefire proposal.
US officials say Russia has proposed that the ceasefire start on 1 March. "We will wait for the American response before we take it to the ISSG," he added.
One official told the Associated Press that the US could not accept that date because rebel forces might suffer irreversible losses in northern and southern Syria before the ceasefire took hold. Moscow has proposed that the ceasefire start on 1 March, but Washington fears that rebel forces might suffer irreversible losses in northern and southern Syria before then, US officials say.
US Secretary of State John Kerry wants a ceasefire to be effective immediately and accompanied by humanitarian organisations being given full access to besieged areas, where the UN says more than 400,000 people are living in dire conditions. Mr Kerry wants a ceasefire to be effective immediately and accompanied by humanitarian organisations being given full access to the 400,000 people trapped in besieged areas.
France's permanent representative to the UN, Francois Delattre, said: "The [Syrian] regime and its allies cannot pretend they are extending a hand to the opposition while with their other hand they are trying to destroy them." The UN human rights chief earlier expressed "utmost alarm" at the rapidly worsening human rights situation in and around the city of Aleppo.
The UN human rights chief also on Thursday expressed "utmost alarm" at the rapidly worsening human rights situation in and around the city of Aleppo.
Since the offensive by government forces began on 1 February, dozens of civilians had been killed and some 51,000 displaced, Mr Zeid said, adding that 300,000 others in rebel-held eastern Aleppo were at risk of being placed under siege.Since the offensive by government forces began on 1 February, dozens of civilians had been killed and some 51,000 displaced, Mr Zeid said, adding that 300,000 others in rebel-held eastern Aleppo were at risk of being placed under siege.
"We have also received numerous reports of destruction of civilian infrastructure, including at least three clinics and two bakeries since the launch of this latest round of hostilities," he added. Russia's defence ministry said it had carried out almost 1,900 air strikes in Syria over the past week.
The US military meanwhile described as "patently false" Russian claims that US aircraft bombed Aleppo on Wednesday. The US earlier alleged that Russian air strikes had destroyed two clinics in Aleppo - something Russian officials denied. But it denied that it had bombed two hospitals in Aleppo on Wednesday, stressing that only US aircraft had flown over the city that day. The US military dismissed the claim, calling it "patently false".
Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin also said his country was not about to be "apologetic" for its actions in Syria, accusing other UN Security Council members of exploiting the humanitarian situation for their own political gain. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a live television address to warn on Thursday that refugee numbers could increase by 600,000 if the Russian strikes continue.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a live television address to warn on Thursday that refugee numbers could increase to 600,000 if the strikes continue. Criticising the mounting pressure on Turkey to allow in 30,000 of those displaced by the fighting around Aleppo who are stranded at its border, he said Turkey would be patient up to a point, but then would be forced to take action.
Attacking the mounting pressure on Turkey to allow in 30,000 of those displaced by the fighting around Aleppo who are stranded at its border, he said Turkey would be patient up to a point, but then would be forced to take action. The UN Office for the Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs separately warned that 120,000 people were trapped in a rebel-held rural area of northern Homs province.
Nato member states later agreed to begin naval patrols in the Aegean Sea to deter people smugglers plying their trade between Turkey - which is hosting more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees - and Greece. Several cases of acute malnutrition among pregnant women and children had been reported, as well as deaths related to lack of medical care, the OCHA said.
Activists meanwhile confirmed Kurdish fighters had captured the Menagh airbase, north of Aleppo, after driving out Islamist rebels from the facility overnight. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Kurdish advance was backed by Russian air strikes.
Saudi state television also quoted a military spokesman as saying the kingdom's offer to send ground troops to Syria was an "irreversible decision" and Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to increase its contribution to the US-led campaign against IS.