Russia yesterday said that it was ready to discuss a ceasefire in Syria as foreign ministers gathered in Munich in a bid to kick-start peace talks derailed by the regime onslaught on the besieged city of Aleppo.
Tens of thousands of Syrians have fled to the Turkish border as government forces, backed by Russian bombers and Iranian fighters, bombard Aleppo, leaving the opposition there virtually surrounded.
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gennady Gatilov said Moscow was “ready to discuss the modalities of a ceasefire” and that peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition rebels could “possibly start earlier” than the proposed date of Feb. 25.
Photo: Reuters
The first round of talks in Geneva collapsed earlier this month over the bombardment of Aleppo, where observers say at least 500 people have been killed since the Russian-backed regime offensive began on Monday last week.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, are hosting foreign ministers from the 17-nation Syria contact group in Munich for a meeting billed as a moment of truth for the floundering peace process.
Washington said it wants a ceasefire and humanitarian access to besieged cities, but has threatened an unspecified “Plan B” if talks fail, as tension mounts with Moscow over its air campaign.
The rebels say they will not return to talks in Geneva unless government sieges and air strikes end.
Kerry was due to meet yesterday with the main opposition representative, Riyad Hijab, as well as Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir.
Analysts see little hope of reconciling the fundamental differences.
In Ankara, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan yesterday warned that his nation’s patience might run out over the crisis in Syria and it could be forced to take action.
He called on the UN to do more to prevent what he said was “ethnic cleansing” in the country, accusing it of insincerity in calling on Turkey to do more to help Syrian refugees instead of taking action to prevent the bloodshed in Syria.
“There is a chance the new wave of refugees will reach 600,000 if air strikes continue. We are making preparations for it,” Erdogan said in a speech to a business forum in Ankara.
“We will show patience up to a point and then we’ll do what’s necessary. Our buses and planes are not waiting there in vain,” he said, adding that Turkey had information that Iran-backed forces in Syria were carrying out “merciless massacres.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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