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| Syria Proposes Cease-Fire in Aleppo | Syria Proposes Cease-Fire in Aleppo |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian government on Friday proposed a cease-fire with rebel forces in the city of Aleppo and said it was willing to exchange detainee lists with the opposition to pave the way for a possible prisoner exchange. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian government on Friday proposed a cease-fire with rebel forces in the city of Aleppo and said it was willing to exchange detainee lists with the opposition to pave the way for a possible prisoner exchange. |
| The proposals, which Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, said he had given to Russia, appeared to be an effort by the government to show good faith days before an international peace conference is to be convened in Switzerland aimed at ending Syria’s civil war. | The proposals, which Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, said he had given to Russia, appeared to be an effort by the government to show good faith days before an international peace conference is to be convened in Switzerland aimed at ending Syria’s civil war. |
| It remains unclear who will attend the conference, set to open on Jan. 22. While the Syrian government has accepted the invitation, it has suggested the conference’s goal should be to fight “terrorism.” The West is increasingly concerned about extremist militants in the insurgency and their potential to become a threat outside Syria, but the government uses terrorism to describe the entire rebel movement that seeks to topple President Bashar al-Assad, so such statements suggest an unwillingness to engage with legitimate grievances against his rule. | |
| Many of the government’s enemies have deep reservations about the conference and the opposition’s exile leadership, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, was meeting in Istanbul on Friday to decide whether to attend. | |
| The United States and other Western powers have put great pressure on the coalition’s leadership to attend the conference, seeing it as the best way to end a nearly three-year-old war that has killed more than 120,000 people. | The United States and other Western powers have put great pressure on the coalition’s leadership to attend the conference, seeing it as the best way to end a nearly three-year-old war that has killed more than 120,000 people. |
| While few expect that the conference will fulfill its stated goal of creating a transitional government with full executive powers, its supporters hope that it will at least lead to increased humanitarian access and local cease-fires to make life easier for Syrian civilians. | While few expect that the conference will fulfill its stated goal of creating a transitional government with full executive powers, its supporters hope that it will at least lead to increased humanitarian access and local cease-fires to make life easier for Syrian civilians. |
| Mr. Moallem provided few details on the government’s proposals. In a joint news conference in Moscow with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, Mr. Moallem said Mr. Lavrov would make the contacts necessary to “establish a zero hour for a cease-fire and the cessation of military operations” in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. | Mr. Moallem provided few details on the government’s proposals. In a joint news conference in Moscow with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, Mr. Moallem said Mr. Lavrov would make the contacts necessary to “establish a zero hour for a cease-fire and the cessation of military operations” in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. |
| He also said that the Syrian government agreed “in principle” to exchanging people held in Syrian prisons for those “kidnapped by armed groups” and that it was willing to trade lists and discuss how to carry out an exchange. | He also said that the Syrian government agreed “in principle” to exchanging people held in Syrian prisons for those “kidnapped by armed groups” and that it was willing to trade lists and discuss how to carry out an exchange. |
| While leaders in Syria’s opposition did not respond immediately to the proposals, trust between the parties is nonexistent. The government has violated cease-fires in the past and activists and rebel leaders have accused it of using local truces to impose surrender on rebel areas. | While leaders in Syria’s opposition did not respond immediately to the proposals, trust between the parties is nonexistent. The government has violated cease-fires in the past and activists and rebel leaders have accused it of using local truces to impose surrender on rebel areas. |
| The government, for its part, dismisses all opposition to its rule as terrorism and points out that the coalition represents few of the opposition fighters on the ground. | The government, for its part, dismisses all opposition to its rule as terrorism and points out that the coalition represents few of the opposition fighters on the ground. |
| Despite international efforts to guarantee participation by both sides, they still sharply disagree on the conference’s goals. | Despite international efforts to guarantee participation by both sides, they still sharply disagree on the conference’s goals. |
| On Friday, Haitham al-Maleh, a member of the opposition coalition, told Al Jazeera television that the group would not negotiate “with the regime” but only “to remove the regime.” | On Friday, Haitham al-Maleh, a member of the opposition coalition, told Al Jazeera television that the group would not negotiate “with the regime” but only “to remove the regime.” |
| In Moscow, Mr. Moallem suggested that the government expected few key changes to come from the conference and would continue “to protect the ambitions of the Syrian people and carry out the directions of President Bashar al-Assad.” | In Moscow, Mr. Moallem suggested that the government expected few key changes to come from the conference and would continue “to protect the ambitions of the Syrian people and carry out the directions of President Bashar al-Assad.” |
| Also on Friday, a number of rockets fired from Syria exploded in a village near the Lebanese border, killing six people, Lebanon’s national news agency said. The dead included five children from one family. | Also on Friday, a number of rockets fired from Syria exploded in a village near the Lebanese border, killing six people, Lebanon’s national news agency said. The dead included five children from one family. |
| Security across Lebanon has been shaken by the civil war in neighboring Syria because of the permeable border between the two countries and the strong links between groups in Lebanon and the warring sides in Syria. | Security across Lebanon has been shaken by the civil war in neighboring Syria because of the permeable border between the two countries and the strong links between groups in Lebanon and the warring sides in Syria. |
| While it was unclear who had fired the rockets that exploded in the border village, Arsal, the area is a transit zone for refugees fleeing Syria and for rebel fighters from Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere. | While it was unclear who had fired the rockets that exploded in the border village, Arsal, the area is a transit zone for refugees fleeing Syria and for rebel fighters from Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere. |
| The rocket attack came one day after a suicide car bomb attack killed four people, including the bomber, in the town of of Hermel further north along the border. | The rocket attack came one day after a suicide car bomb attack killed four people, including the bomber, in the town of of Hermel further north along the border. |