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John Kerry meets Saudi foreign minister in Syria ceasefire talks John Kerry says several proposals on table for partial Syria truce
(about 4 hours later)
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has opened a second day of talks in Geneva aimed at finding a way to restore at least a partial truce in Syria amid continuing attacks in Aleppo. John Kerry has said several proposals aimed at finding a way to restore at least a partial truce in Syria are being discussed, as attacks on the city of Aleppo continue.
Kerry met Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, and planned to meet the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, later on Monday. Kerry said progress was being made towards an understanding on how to reduce the violence in Aleppo but that more work was needed. The US secretary of state met Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, and the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Monday. He said progress was being made towards an understanding on how to reduce the violence in Aleppo, but that more work was needed.
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Jubeir called the situation in Aleppo an “outrage” and a criminal violation of humanitarian law. He said that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, would be held accountable for the attacks and would be removed from power either through a political process or by force. “There are several proposals that are now going back to key players to sign off,” Kerry said after meeting De Mistura. We are hopeful but we are not there yet … we are going to work very hard in the next 24 hours, 48 hours to get there.”
“There is only one side that is flying airplanes, and that is Bashar al-Assad and his allies, so they are responsible for the massacre of women, children, and the elderly,” he said. He did not say what the proposals were, adding that he would phone Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, later on Monday and that De Mistura would go to Moscow on Tuesday for talks.
“They are responsible for the murder of doctors and medical personnel, and this situation, any way you slice it, will not stand. The world is not going to allow them to get away with this.” He said the US and Russia have agreed that there would be additional personnel dedicated to making sure there was more accountability and ability to enforce the cessation of hostilities on a day-to-day basis.
Kerry’s meetings in Geneva come a day after the Syrian military extended a ceasefire around the capital for another 24 hours and relative calm set in across much of the country apart from Aleppo, the country’s largest city and a key battleground in the civil war. Aleppo is not covered by the ceasefire but saw less fighting. More than 250 people have died in shelling and airstrikes in the northern city over the last nine days, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. For Aleppo, the US is considering drawing up a detailed map with Moscow that would lay out “safe zones” where civilians and members of moderate opposition groups covered by the truce could find shelter from persistent attacks by the Syrian military, which claims to be targeting terrorists.
The government declared its own ceasefire around Damascus and the coastal Latakia region on Friday following two weeks of escalating unrest. But more than three dozen rebel factions said on Saturday they would not respect the truce unless the government agreed to extend it over the whole country. One US official said “hard lines” would delineate specific areas and neighbourhoods. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan or if it would be able to persuade Bashar al-Assad’s government to respect the prospective zones. Some US officials are skeptical of the chances for success, but also note that it is worth a try to at least reduce the violence.
They also say the safe areas would not be no-fly zones per se, but details such as locations have not yet been agreed.
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For Aleppo, the US is considering drawing up with the Russians a detailed map that would lay out “safe zones”. Civilians and members of moderate opposition groups covered by the truce could find shelter from persistent attacks by Assad’s military, which claims to be targeting terrorists. One US official said “hard lines” would delineate specific areas and neighbourhoods. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. Earlier, Jubeir called the situation in Aleppo an outrage and a criminal violation of humanitarian law. He said Assad would be held accountable for the attacks and removed from power either through a political process or by force.
It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan or if Moscow could persuade the Assad government to respect the prospective zones. Some US officials are sceptical of the chances for success, but also note that it is worth a try to at least reduce the violence. “There is only one side that is flying airplanes, and that is Bashar al-Assad and his allies, so they are responsible for the massacre of women, children, and the elderly,” he said. “They are responsible for the murder of doctors and medical personnel, and this situation, any way you slice it, will not stand. The world is not going to allow them to get away with this.”
Kerry’s meetings in Geneva came as Syria’s state news agency said the military had extended its ceasefire around Damascus and opposition strongholds in the eastern suburbs for another 48 hours. It said the cessation of hostilities was declared on Friday around the capital and the coastal Latakia region after two weeks of escalating violence.
It excludes Aleppo, however, where more than 250 people have died in shelling and airstrikes over the last nine days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia’s Tass news agency, meanwhile, quoted General Sergei Kuralenko, the head of the Russian coordination centre in Syria, as saying that talks were continuing about a ceasefire for Aleppo.