The US and Russia’s top diplomats are meeting to discuss ways to end the bombing of Aleppo, allow safe passage of those who want to flee the war-torn northern Syrian city and deliver humanitarian aid to its remaining residents, according to senior State Department officials.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Hamburg, Germany, to discuss “ongoing multilateral efforts” to end fighting in the city, Assistant Secretary and State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
The meeting will also examine ways to end the bombardment of the city, as well as “the delivery of humanitarian aid to the tens of thousands of Syrian civilians in desperate need there.”
However, “the parameters are not yet agreed upon,” one official said.
Plans to end the violence include a US-led initiative, floated on December 2, to guarantee safe passage of rebel forces out of the rebel-held eastern part of the devastated city.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Russian government supports the US initiative.
“I confirm the support to the US initiative of December 2,” Lavrov told a reporter following his meeting with Kerry, according to the agency.
The two men met for about 45 minutes Wednesday night and are expected to meet again on Thursday morning. The US broke off direct negotiations on a ceasefire with Russia in October after repeated Russian bombing of civilian targets.
Kerry and Lavrov are in Germany ahead of a two-day Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) summit.
Syrian forces retake key neighborhoods
Syrian government troops now control most of the neighborhoods in the old city of Aleppo after days of fierce fighting against rebel forces, with only small pockets remaining in opposition hands.
Overall, the rebels hold only about a quarter of war-ravaged eastern Aleppo, residents and activists inside the city told CNN.
Many civilians remain trapped in the shrinking rebel-held portion of the devastated city. Food, fuel and medical supplies are almost exhausted with no safe route out.
On Wednesday, Syrian rebels in the besieged eastern part of the city called for a five-day humanitarian ceasefire.
James Prince, President of the Democracy Council — which works with US-backed Syrian opposition groups — said a lack of US support has left the opposition with no leverage to negotiate and is forcing them to surrender and leave Aleppo to stop the bombing.
“Let’s be clear. This is a withdrawal by opposition forces from Aleppo in the face of massive combined force of Russia, Hezbollah and the Assad government,” Prince said.
“Other than the humanitarian benefit of evacuating civilians, the reassertion of Assad’s control of Syria’s most populous city will lead to more bloodshed and bolster recruitment efforts of extremists like (ISIS).
“The world needs to find a comprehensive solution in Syria that involves transition to a legitimate federal government and the withdrawal of all foreign forces.”
Desperate situation
One activist in eastern Aleppo told CNN as many as 200,000 people — including rebels and their families — were crammed into 10 rebel-held neighborhoods, some having fled from other areas under fire.
He described the situation as “apocalyptic,” saying the few hospitals still operating were packed with injured civilians and resembled “slaughterhouses,” with no medical supplies or proper facilities.
Dozens of people have been killed daily in the strikes and crossfire between the regime and rebels since the Syrian forces began their push into eastern Aleppo on November 26, activist groups said.
Assad: Never thought to abandon Aleppo
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a Syrian newspaper that the reassertion of government control in the city had never been in question.
“We have not thought in one day to leave any region without liberation,” he said in an interview to be published in the Syrian al-Watan newspaper Thursday, according to Syrian state media.
Al-Assad said that the push to retake the city was a conclusion of the military situation in the civil war-ravaged country.
“Liberating Aleppo from terrorists means that real cards will not remain in the hands of terrorists and the countries which support them,” he said.
“From a military point of view, who wins in Damascus or Aleppo, will achieve a great military and political achievement as they are politically and economically important.”
Assad also discussed his country’s relations with Russia and Turkey, and expressed a desire to expand relations with Russia once the Syrian war ends.