US Secretary of State John Kerry was to travel to Geneva yesterday in a show of support for the ceasefire between the Syrian government and rebel forces, US officials said on Saturday.
Kerry is to meet with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Saudi Arabia and UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, the US Department of State said in a statement.
The trip comes with a US and Russian-backed ceasefire under threat as Syrian government aircraft continue to attack the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
“In all of his discussions, the secretary will 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” as called for in a UN Security Council resolution, the statement said.
A new round of UN-backed Syria peace talks is set to begin on Tuesday next week in Geneva after the last round ended last week with no progress.
Aleppo is a key battleground of vital strategic significance to both sides in the Syrian civil war.
The truce, which came into force on Feb. 27, has done little to ease the threat against the city.
The US on Saturday demanded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces halt their bombardment of Aleppo and help restore a nationwide ceasefire.
Terrified residents fled a new wave of airstrikes on rebel-held areas of the divided city as key regime backer Russia rejected calls to rein in its ally.
In Aleppo’s rebel-held east, dozens of civilians left the battered Bustan al-Qasr district early on Saturday, a reporters said.
“The situation has become unbearable,” Abu Mohammed said as he prepared to flee with his wife and five children. “Everything is paralyzed.”
Russia said that it would not ask Damascus to halt air raids on Aleppo.
“No, we are not going to put pressure on [Damascus] because one must understand that the situation in Aleppo is part of this fight against the terrorist threat,” Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gennady Gatilov said.
At least 246 civilians have died in shelling, rocket fire and air strikes in both sides of the city since April 22, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
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