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| Date: Nov 2, 2016 | ||
| Source: The Daily Star | ||
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| Russia seeks 'honest' cooperation in Syria: Lavrov | ||
| and declares 10-hour Aleppo 'humanitarian pause' Friday | ||
Agence France
Presse ATHENS: Russia seeks "honest cooperation" for a political solution in Syria,
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday as Moscow declared a brief truce in the war-ravaged
city of Aleppo. "We hope our partners will draw (the) necessary conclusions
(so that) we will all aim for honest cooperation... for a political process involving both the
government and opposition forces," Lavrov said at the start of an official visit to
Greece. However, he insisted that Washington help enforce a United Nations
Security Council resolution condemning support for extremist groups in
Syria. "When we adopted this resolution, I remember U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry's words. He said: 'Whoever wants to be part of (the political) process must sever links
to terrorists'," Lavrov said through a translator. "Almost a year has
passed and we await these words to be carried out," he added. Russia has
accused the U.S.-led coalition of failing to rein in hardline Syrian rebels, warning that the
chances of a political settlement to the crisis was now remote. In turn,
the West has accused Moscow of committing possible war crimes in Aleppo through indiscriminate
bombing to support a brutal Syrian government offensive. Moscow has been
conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally Bashar al-Assad since September
2015. More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria's war devolved
from a widespread protest movement against Assad's rule in March 2011 to a multi-front war between
rebels, jihadists, Kurds and regime forces. Russia declares 10-hour Aleppo 'humanitarian pause' Friday MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 10-hour truce Friday in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo, the Russian defense ministry said. "A decision was made to introduce a 'humanitarian pause' in Aleppo on Nov. 4 from 9:00 am (0600 GMT) to 19:00," the chief of Russia's General Staff Valery Gerasimov said in a statement Wednesday. Gerasimov said the decision was approved by Syrian authorities and was meant to "prevent senseless casualties" by allowing civilians and armed combatants to quit rebel-held eastern Aleppo. He said eight corridors -- six for civilians and two for fighters -- could be used for this. Rebels launched a major assault Friday to break the siege of Aleppo but have been met this week by fierce resistance from government forces. Aleppo has been hit by some of the worst violence in Syria's five-year conflict, turning the once bustling economic hub into a divided and bombed-out city. Defence ministry Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Russia had ceased airstrikes on eastern Aleppo for 16 days, following criticism over a Russian-backed Syrian government assault that has killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed infrastructure, including hospitals. The halt in bombing was initially declared ahead of a short ceasefire that ended last month. Moscow at the time ruled out a truce extension. Shoigu accused the U.S.-led coalition of failing to rein in hardline rebels and said that the chances of a political settlement to the crisis was now remote. The West has accused Moscow of committing possible war crimes in Aleppo through indiscriminate bombing to support a brutal Syrian government offensive. Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally Bashar Assad since September 2015. More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria's war devolved from a widespread protest movement against Assad's rule in March 2011 to a multi-front war between rebels, extremists, Kurds and government forces. | ||