US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he believed a ceasefire deal could still be restored in Syria despite escalating violence, and warned t Bashar al-Assad of “repercussions” unless he sticks to the agreement.
“The line they are trying to draw now would prohibit any kind of incursion of Aleppo, it will not allow Aleppo to fall,” Kerry told reporters a day after meetings in Geneva.
“If Assad does not adhere to this, there will clearly be repercussions, and one of them may be the total destruction of the ceasefire and then go back to war. I don’t think Russia wants that.”
Mr Kerry added: “If Assad’s strategy is to somehow think he’s going to just carve out Aleppo and carve out a section of the country, I’ve got news for him – this war doesn’t end.
“It is simply physically impossible for Assad to just carve out an area and pretend that he’s somehow going to make it safe, while the underlying issues are unresolved in this war. And as long as Assad is there, the opposition is not going to stop fighting it… one way or the other.”
He reiterated there was an August deadline for starting a political transition in Syria.
Earlier this year, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned that Russia might be trying to create a mini-state for President Assad in the north-west of the country, which includes Aleppo. Russia strongly denied the idea.
A February 27 truce has all but collapsed amid renewed fighting, the worst of it in Aleppo where a surge in violence has claimed more than 270 lives since April 22.
Washington and Moscow are now working together to include Aleppo in a freeze in fighting aimed at bolstering the broader truce brokered by both world powers.
“The cessation of hostilities was put in place precisely to give the people on the ground who are innocently caught between these warring factions some breather, some ability to be able to be safe and work this out at the negotiating table,” Kerry said.
“That is why we are working urgently right now to reaffirm the cessation of hostilities nationwide.”
Russia said Tuesday it hoped a new ceasefire could be announced within hours for Aleppo.
Civilian casualties have risen sharply in Aleppo in recent days amid a regime offensive.
More than 250 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past 10 days.
Last Wednesday, an air strike on a hospital in a rebel-held area killed 55 people. The US blamed the attack on government forces.
UN Security Council on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding the protection of hospitals, clinics and health workers in war zones.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there was no justification for attacks on medical facilities.
As diplomatic efforts intensified on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a unilateral truce declared by the Syrian military could be extended to Aleppo “in the next few hours”.
After talks with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura in Moscow, he said Russia was working with the UN and US to include Aleppo in the “regime of calm” that has covered Damascus and Latakia since Saturday.
Source: AFP, BBC , 4 May 2016
