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Syria Aleppo: Kerry begins new bid to stop fighting Syria conflict: Kerry hopes to salvage truce as new raids hit Aleppo
(about 11 hours later)
US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva in an attempt to bolster a fragile, partial ceasefire in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry says envoys meeting in Geneva are getting closer to an understanding on salvaging the cessation of hostilities in Syria.
Mr Kerry is due to hold urgent talks on the situation with the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and the Saudi and Jordanian foreign ministers. He told reporters progress was being made on a plan to reduce the violence in the second city of Aleppo, which has threatened to sink the nine-week truce.
A top priority, he said, was ending the violence in the northern city of Aleppo. Mr Kerry was speaking before talks with his Saudi counterpart, who called the situation in Aleppo an "outrage".
More than 250 civilians have been killed in Aleppo in the last 10 days. Some 250 people have reportedly been killed there in the past nine days.
A Russian defence official said earlier that negotiations were taking place to establish a ceasefire there. On Monday, fresh government air strikes and artillery attacks on rebel-held districts and suburbs left at least three dead, activists said.
The US wants Russia to put pressure on its ally the Syrian government to stop what it says is indiscriminate bombardment. Mr Kerry's trip to Geneva was hastily arranged after UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura appealed to the US and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria's five-year conflict, to rescue the cessation of hostilities they brokered in February.
The Russian and Syrian governments say the Aleppo strikes are targeting the Nusra Front - a jihadist force not party to a ceasefire agreed in February. At the start of his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday, the US secretary of state said he would press rebel groups operating in Aleppo to separate themselves from the powerful jihadist group, al-Nusra Front.
'Critical hours' "This is what we're discussing, among other things. There are a number of different ways to approach it," Mr Kerry told reporters.
"We are talking directly to the Russians, even now," Mr Kerry said on arrival in the Swiss city, as he began talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. "We're getting closer to a place of understanding. But we have some work to do."
"These are critical hours. We look for Russia's co-operation. We obviously look for the regime to listen to Russia and to respond to the international communities' powerful statement to the UN Security Council." The Syrian government and Russia have said the Aleppo air strikes are targeting only al-Nusra, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda and is excluded from the cessation of hostilities along with the rival Islamic State group.
The US secretary of state stressed that a UN Security Council Resolution called for a "full country, countrywide, cessation and also for all of the country to be accessible to humanitarian assistance". However, the opposition and the US have dismissed the claim, and accused the government of targeting civilians and rebels abiding by the cessation of hostilities.
"Obviously that hasn't happened and isn't happening," he said. "What is happening in Aleppo is an outrage. It's a violation of all humanitarian laws. It's a crime," Mr Jubeir said, adding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be held accountable and would be removed from power either through a political process or by force.
Speaking from Russia's Hmeimim air force base in Syria, Lt Gen Sergei Kuralenko told Russian news agencies that "active negotiations" were under way to establish a "regime of calm in Aleppo province". The fighting in Aleppo has also seen dozens of civilians killed in rebel artillery attacks on government-held areas. Six people died as a result of rocketfire on Tuesday, state media said.
The Russian defence ministry official gave no details but added that "regime of calm" around the Syrian capital had been extended until 21:00 GMT on Monday. After at least 50 people were killed in a reported government air strike on a hospital on Wednesday night, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that Aleppo was being "pushed further to the brink of humanitarian disaster".
His comments indicate a shift in Russia's position. On Saturday, Moscow said it would not force the Syrian military to stop its campaign, which has threatened the complete collapse of peace efforts. Large parts of the city have been destroyed and its infrastructure has been severely damaged, leaving civilians without water and electricity for months.
'Quieter day' The talks in Geneva come a day after the Syrian military extended a "regime of calm" around the capital, Damascus, for another 24 hours.
The truce between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and moderate rebels in Syria has broken down in recent months, especially in the divided and besieged Aleppo. The unilateral truce also covers the northern countryside of the coastal province of Latakia,
Large parts of the city - Syria's largest - have been destroyed, leaving civilians without water and electricity for months. More than three dozen rebel factions said on Saturday that they would not respect the truce, unless the government agreed to extend it over the whole country.
Reports suggest the situation in Aleppo was quieter on Sunday than in recent days despite some new air strikes by government forces and shelling by rebels.
A new round of UN-backed peace talks is set to start on 10 May in Geneva.