Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed peace talks on Syria, as evacuations continued of civilians desperate to leave the bombarded city of Aleppo.
“Syrian forces have achieved success in allowing the Syrian people to lead their ordinary life and return to homes … the next step is an agreement about stopping all the fighting, all the shooting,” Putin said Friday, during a joint press conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Since Thursday, up to 9,000 people have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo, according to Russian state media quoting Russia’s Defense Ministry and Russia’s Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria — as well as reporting from Syrian state television.
Speaking during his trip to Japan, Putin said he had proposed peace talks during a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.
He suggested they could be held in Kazakhstan.