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Russia Says It’ll Discuss With U.S. a Deal on Exit for Insurgents in Aleppo Russia Says It’ll Discuss With U.S. a Deal on Exit for Insurgents in Aleppo
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — With the Syrian rebel enclave of eastern Aleppo shriveling, Russia said on Monday that it would start talks with the United States this week on a deal for holdout insurgents to leave, and that any who refused would be regarded as terrorists subject to deadly assault.BEIRUT, Lebanon — With the Syrian rebel enclave of eastern Aleppo shriveling, Russia said on Monday that it would start talks with the United States this week on a deal for holdout insurgents to leave, and that any who refused would be regarded as terrorists subject to deadly assault.
The Russian announcement, conveyed by Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov at a news conference in Moscow, appeared to reflect the limited options facing the United States in Aleppo, where it has supported some of the ensconced insurgents. Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia, who conveyed the announcement at a news conference in Moscow, also said Russia and the United States were close to an agreement.
United States officials, as well as the special United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, have up to now called only for a deal to evacuate several hundred fighters linked to Al Qaeda, not all the insurgents, who are believed to number several thousand. Mr. Lavrov added that Secretary of State John Kerry had submitted a proposal for the routes and timing of the fighters’ departure after meeting with Mr. Lavrov in Rome over the weekend.
Asked about Mr. Lavrov’s comments, the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, suggested there was little the United States could or would do if Syrian and Russian forces targeted any eastern Aleppo holdouts. But he denounced the aerial assaults targeting the area as a strategy “to bomb innocent civilians into submission.” American officials acknowledged the possibility of talks with the Russians in Geneva this week but would not confirm the substance of Mr. Lavrov’s remarks, which appeared to have taken them by surprise.
They also condemned the indiscriminate bombing of eastern Aleppo by Russian-backed Syrian forces and reiterated their calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting, a step that Russian and Chinese diplomats vetoed on Monday at the United Nations.
Mark C. Toner, a State Department spokesman, said in Washington that there had been discussion of “technical talks taking place this week, but we don’t have anything to confirm at this point.”
The United States shares Russia’s antipathy for militants linked to Al Qaeda who are hiding in eastern Aleppo. But the Americans also support other groups of fighters there who oppose President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
While the United States agreed that the Qaeda-linked fighters in Aleppo were a problem, Mr. Toner said, “there’s a moderate Syrian opposition that should not and does not deserve to be bombed into submission.”
American officials, as well as the special United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, have up to now called only for a deal to evacuate several hundred fighters linked to Al Qaeda, not all the insurgents, who are believed to number several thousand.
The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, suggested there was little the United States could or would do if Syrian and Russian forces targeted any eastern Aleppo holdouts. But he denounced the aerial assaults targeting the area, calling them “disgraceful.”
Russia’s assertion that an agreement with the United States on Aleppo was close played a role in the diplomatic wrangling on Monday at the United Nations Security Council, where Russia and China vetoed a resolution that would have imposed a cease-fire.
Russia said the measure was unnecessary, as talks were underway with the Americans. The United States said there was no breakthrough and therefore no reason to delay a humanitarian pause.
“Today, we had a chance not to end — but to briefly stop — the ongoing butchery in eastern Aleppo,” said Michele J. Sison, the deputy United States ambassador to the United Nations. “We have failed because of a cynical act.”
United Nations officials have pleaded for a cessation in fighting in order to get food and medicine into the besieged rebel-held portion of Aleppo.
Mr. Lavrov’s comments came during another terrifying day for civilians in Aleppo, the formerly vibrant commercial center of Syria, which has become a pivotal battleground in the nearly six-year Syria war.Mr. Lavrov’s comments came during another terrifying day for civilians in Aleppo, the formerly vibrant commercial center of Syria, which has become a pivotal battleground in the nearly six-year Syria war.
Two Russian nurses in government-held western Aleppo were killed when mortar rounds apparently fired by rebels hit an army field hospital set up to help people who had fled from rebel-held areas during the government offensive. The nurses’ deaths prompted calls from supporters of the Syrian government for Russia to escalate its involvement in the battle.Two Russian nurses in government-held western Aleppo were killed when mortar rounds apparently fired by rebels hit an army field hospital set up to help people who had fled from rebel-held areas during the government offensive. The nurses’ deaths prompted calls from supporters of the Syrian government for Russia to escalate its involvement in the battle.
In the shrinking rebel redoubt on the eastern side of the city, intense artillery shelling and airstrikes forced residents to cower in basements. Some barrages were striking at the rate of a shell every second, residents reported via text message, transmitting what appeared to be audio recordings of the blasts.In the shrinking rebel redoubt on the eastern side of the city, intense artillery shelling and airstrikes forced residents to cower in basements. Some barrages were striking at the rate of a shell every second, residents reported via text message, transmitting what appeared to be audio recordings of the blasts.
It was unclear how many people were killed in the Monday barrages, as makeshift health care systems in eastern Aleppo collapsed, but residents described seeing bodies on the streets because no one could pick them up.It was unclear how many people were killed in the Monday barrages, as makeshift health care systems in eastern Aleppo collapsed, but residents described seeing bodies on the streets because no one could pick them up.
On the government side, eight people were killed by rebel shelling on Monday, state news outlets reported.On the government side, eight people were killed by rebel shelling on Monday, state news outlets reported.
The Russian news media said the two nurses were killed by shelling on an Aleppo park that had been turned by the army into an field hospital for the displaced. They were among the highest-profile deaths of Russian military personnel helping the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The Russian news media said the two nurses were killed by shelling on an Aleppo park that had been turned by the army into a field hospital for the displaced. They were among the highest-profile deaths of Russian military personnel helping Mr. Assad.
Russia’s military assistance has been crucial to keeping the government afloat, and Russia has been providing food and services to people fleeing eastern Aleppo in the recent fighting, even as it has been blamed by the opposition for backing indiscriminate bombing by the government.Russia’s military assistance has been crucial to keeping the government afloat, and Russia has been providing food and services to people fleeing eastern Aleppo in the recent fighting, even as it has been blamed by the opposition for backing indiscriminate bombing by the government.
Mr. Lavrov said he was confident that an agreement on a rebel withdrawal would be reached with the United States during talks to be held in Geneva starting on Tuesday or Wednesday.Mr. Lavrov said he was confident that an agreement on a rebel withdrawal would be reached with the United States during talks to be held in Geneva starting on Tuesday or Wednesday.
He said Secretary of State John Kerry had submitted a proposal for the routes and timing of the fighters’ departure after meeting with Mr. Lavrov in Rome on Saturday.
“Those armed groups who refuse to leave eastern Aleppo will be regarded as terrorists,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters. “We will treat them as such, as terrorists, as extremists and will support a Syrian Army operation against those criminal squads.”“Those armed groups who refuse to leave eastern Aleppo will be regarded as terrorists,” Mr. Lavrov told reporters. “We will treat them as such, as terrorists, as extremists and will support a Syrian Army operation against those criminal squads.”
At the United Nations Security Council, diplomats sought to impose a brief cease-fire in Aleppo, but after weeks of negotiations, Russia and China vetoed it. United Nations officials have pleaded for a cessation in fighting in order to get food and medicine into the besieged rebel-held portion of Aleppo.
Perhaps one indication of the intensification of violence on Monday was that nearly every person contacted in Aleppo had been wounded or had experienced a scare.
In one part of rebel-held Aleppo, Hisham Skeif, a local council member, had been wounded in his hand by shrapnel. Bassem Ayoub, an antigovernment activist, survived a nearby shelling that damaged his car. Zaher al-Zaher, another activist, said he was walking with his mother when a shell fell about seven yards away.
“No words can describe the situation,” he said. “The shelling is not only close, but they’re falling on us.”
A government maintenance worker on the western, government-held side of the city said that he had heard heavy shelling and seen smoke nearby, and that in another area his sister had been wounded in the hand by shrapnel.
Shells also fell near Shahba Hotel in Aleppo, according to several international journalists staying there. A Russian journalist was reported wounded in the field hospital shelling.