Syria: Russia ‘seeks truce for Aleppo’ after wave of deadly bombings

[webfact]

Syria: Russia ‘seeks truce for Aleppo’ after wave of deadly bombings
By Alasdair Sandford | With REUTER



MOSCOW: -- Russia says talks are taking place to include Syria’s Aleppo province in the latest temporary truce – as once again the diplomatic machine cranks into gear, shaken by a series of bombardments carried out by both sides in the conflict.

Saturday saw a ninth day of deadly bombardments in the city. A foreign-based monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least five people were killed in what are believed to have been government airstrikes on rebel-held districts.

Two-thirds of the estimated 250 civilian casualties – including at least 40 children – in nine days of bombing are thought to have died in government airstrikes. Rebels have also shelled government-held areas.

“At present, there is an active negotiation process taking place to establish a regime of calm also in Aleppo province,” Interfax news agency cited General Sergei Kuralenko, in charge of Russia’s ceasefire monitoring centre in Syria, as saying.

Moscow said on Saturday that it would not ask its ally Damascus to stop the bombing.

With US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Sunday for more talks, Washington has accused the Syrian regime of predominantly targetting civilians.

The Americans want a ceasefire to extend to whole country. The army’s lull in fighting, the so-called “regime of calm” covers only areas around the capital and the western Latakia province. Russia and the Syria authorities say the “calm” around Damascus has been extended for another 24 hours until the end of Monday.

But some observers believe Damascus may be getting the upper hand in Aleppo and has no interest in stopping its offensive on the country’s second city.

World powers and the United Nations have been trying to salvage a ceasefire deal brokered in February by Moscow and Washington, which applied to western Syria but excluded al Qaeda and Islamic State fighters.

As the UN tries to bang Washington and Moscow’s heads together to prevent a complete collapse of talks, on the ground aid has continued to be delivered.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says supplies have begun to enter Zabadani and Madaya, where earlier this year a government siege brought reports of starvation.

Aid trucks also entered al-Foua and Kefraya in the northwest province of Idlib – towns which are surrounded by insurgents – in a joint operation between the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the UN.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-05-02

[webfact]

US once again forced to turn to Russia for help on Syria
By MATTHEW LEE

GENEVA (AP) — Scrambling to resuscitate a nearly dead truce in Syria, the Obama administration has again been forced to turn to Russia for help, with little hope for the desired U.S. outcome.

At stake are thousands of lives and the fate of a feeble peace process essential to the fight against the Islamic State group, and Secretary of State John Kerry has appealed once more to his Russian counterpart for assistance in containing and reducing the violence, particularly around city of Aleppo.

"We are talking directly to the Russians, even now," Kerry said on his arrival in Geneva as he began talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. "The hope is we can make some progress, but the UN Security Council Resolution calls for a full country, countrywide, cessation and also for all of the country to be accessible to humanitarian assistance. Obviously that hasn't happened and isn't happening."

"These are critical hours. We look for Russia's cooperation. We obviously look for the regime to listen to Russia and to respond to the international communities' powerful statement to the UN Security Council."

Kerry spoke at length on Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to that end, and had been hoping to meet with Lavrov soon, according to U.S. officials.

In Geneva, Kerry met with Judeh and was to meet U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday before returning to Washington.

But Lavrov was not expected to be in Geneva, complicating Kerry's efforts to make the case directly to the Russians for more pressure on their Syrian government allies to stop or at least limit attacks in Aleppo.

The State Department said Kerry, in his meetings, would "review ongoing efforts to reaffirm the cessation of hostilities nationwide in Syria, obtain the full humanitarian access to which the Syrian government committed and support a political transition."

Specific, viable options to achieve those broad goals are limited, and Friday's announcement of a new, partial cease-fire that does not include Aleppo underscored the difficulty Kerry faced.

U.S. and other officials described that initiative, brokered mainly by Russia and the United States as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group, as a "reinforcement" of the February truce, now largely in tatters, that they hope to extend from Damascus and the capital's suburbs and the coastal province of Latakia to other areas.

"This is an agreement within the task force, but certainly on the part of the U.S. and Russia that there would be a reinforcement of the cessation of hostilities in these specific areas as a start, with the expectation that this ... would be then extended elsewhere," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Syria's military extended a unilateral cease-fire around the capital for another 24 hours on Sunday, and relative calm set in across much of the country after days of heavy fighting concentrated in Aleppo.

For that city, the U.S. is considering drawing up with the Russians a detailed map that would lay out "safe zones." Civilians and members of moderate opposition groups covered by the truce could find shelter from persistent attacks by Syrian President Bashar Assad's military, which claims to be targeting terrorists.

One U.S. official said "hard lines" would delineate specific areas and neighborhoods. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan or if Moscow could persuade the Assad government to respect the prospective zones. Some U.S. officials are skeptical of the chances for success, but also note that it is worth a try to at least reduce the violence that has wracked Aleppo for the past week, with hundreds killed and thousands wounded.

Kerry discussed the deteriorating situation in calls over the past days with de Mistura and the head of a Syrian opposition negotiating committee. "We are working on specific initiatives to de-escalate the increased fighting and defuse tensions and hope to make tangible progress on such initiatives soon," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

For the administration, Friday's announcement about the partial cease-fire is largely a means to measure the commitment of the warring parties to the concept of a truce that could lead to serious peace talks.

"It's a test for the Russians and for the regime, as well as for the Syrian opposition," Toner said.

The administration's problem is that the Russians, the Assad government and the opposition backed by the U.S. and its partners have all failed that test in the past.

In particular, the administration has been routinely disappointed that Russia has not lived up to pledges that U.S. officials think it has made. From the start of the conflict, the administration has sought numerous times for Moscow to use its influence with Damascus to bring about an end to the violence and to advance a political transition. At each turn, those hopes have been dashed with Russia continuing, and even increasing, its support for Assad.

U.S. officials concede there is little to suggest that will change.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-02

[johnarth]

nothing will change while you have worse than animal type thinking people with knifes, guns, bombs.and money backers.would help much to get rid of the money backers

[Maggusoil]

nothing will change while you have worse than animal type thinking people with knifes, guns, bombs.and money backers.would help much to get rid of the money backers

This is in fact part of Donald Rumsfeld's 15 year war.

All planned. All on target.

Somebody ( tax payers in America, Canada, Australia et al ) are paying for it, and somebody else (weapon's manufacturers ) are reaping the profits and the Syrians, like you and me? The targets? Are suffering for it.

Wake up World.

[craigt3365]

nothing will change while you have worse than animal type thinking people with knifes, guns, bombs.and money backers.would help much to get rid of the money backers

This is in fact part of Donald Rumsfeld's 15 year war.

All planned. All on target.

Somebody ( tax payers in America, Canada, Australia et al ) are paying for it, and somebody else (weapon's manufacturers ) are reaping the profits and the Syrians, like you and me? The targets? Are suffering for it.

Wake up World.

Who do you think the #1 weapons supplier to Syria is? Who stands to profit immensely if the gas pipeline isn't built across Syria? Yes, this war is about money. And yes, as usual, the civilians are suffering. But sadly, they've been suffering for decades under Assad's rule. Of course nothing like now...

[wabothai]

nothing will change while you have worse than animal type thinking people with knifes, guns, bombs.and money backers.would help much to get rid of the money backers

This is in fact part of Donald Rumsfeld's 15 year war.

All planned. All on target.

Somebody ( tax payers in America, Canada, Australia et al ) are paying for it, and somebody else (weapon's manufacturers ) are reaping the profits and the Syrians, like you and me? The targets? Are suffering for it.

Wake up World.

I think the world has woken up. Sticking your neck out to start something against the weapon manufacturers, bankers and dealers would get you killed.

The bastards got us by the balls.

[craigt3365]

nothing will change while you have worse than animal type thinking people with knifes, guns, bombs.and money backers.would help much to get rid of the money backers

This is in fact part of Donald Rumsfeld's 15 year war.

All planned. All on target.

Somebody ( tax payers in America, Canada, Australia et al ) are paying for it, and somebody else (weapon's manufacturers ) are reaping the profits and the Syrians, like you and me? The targets? Are suffering for it.

Wake up World.

I think the world has woken up. Sticking your neck out to start something against the weapon manufacturers, bankers and dealers would get you killed.

The bastards got us by the balls.

Let's not forget what started this mess in Syria. A maniacal dictator who brutally cracked down on protesters, killing many. They decided to fight back. It was all internal until other powers got involved, including IS. Blame needs to be placed properly.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators

For Bashar al-Assad, the blame lies with outsiders – especially Turkey and the Gulf monarchies – who have used their money and influence to sponsor the uprising, arm the rebels and supply foreign recruits. This is certainly the case, but it’s only part of the story. In the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government’s aims. It was then that foreign jihadists first entered the country and helped to build the structures and supply lines that are now being used to fight the government. To that extent Assad is fighting an enemy he helped to create.

[mrwebb8825]

So, the Russians, et. al. are financing the Assad government, the US et. al. are financing the opposition to Assad and yet, they are the exact same people that make up the UN and are trying to broker a peace deal.

So why is everyone going to Geneva? Is it the coffee and the fresh air?

What NEEDS to happen, is the US and Russia need to meet in Moscow or Washington DC, pick a side to support jointly, broker a deal on the spoils with Syria and then focus a 3-pronged total annihilation assault on the ISIS in the area to get the deal done. They also need to jointly tell the UNSC to <deleted>. If the US and Russia pulled out of the UN it would crumble inside of 3 months.

Just another way to look at things.

[craigt3365]

So, the Russians, et. al. are financing the Assad government, the US et. al. are financing the opposition to Assad and yet, they are the exact same people that make up the UN and are trying to broker a peace deal.

So why is everyone going to Geneva? Is it the coffee and the fresh air?

What NEEDS to happen, is the US and Russia need to meet in Moscow or Washington DC, pick a side to support jointly, broker a deal on the spoils with Syria and then focus a 3-pronged total annihilation assault on the ISIS in the area to get the deal done. They also need to jointly tell the UNSC to <deleted>. If the US and Russia pulled out of the UN it would crumble inside of 3 months.

Just another way to look at things.

Russia has a huge stake in what happens in Syria. The US, not much. Other than trying to contain IS. Who came in via the door opened by Assad.

The big backers of the mess are various countries in the Middle East. Mainly, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran has boots on the ground. SA has been supplying money and weapons for some time and wants to put boots on the ground. Other nations surrounding Syria are also involved. It's a religious war. And a total mess.

The US did meet with Russia. But they continued to bomb after the ceasefire was signed. Russia could easily stop this mess. And yes, the UNSC is a paper tiger. Worthless.

[Langsuan Man]

Moscow said on Saturday that it would not ask its ally Damascus to stop the bombing.

How do you reconcile this statement with

Russia ‘seeks truce for Aleppo’ after wave of deadly bombings

Do the Russians think that the rebels are boming themselves ?