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Talks Seek to Extend Fragile Syrian Truce to Northern City of Aleppo Talks Seek to Extend Fragile Syrian Truce to Northern City of Aleppo
(about 3 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that negotiations were underway to extend a fragile cease-fire agreement in Syria to the embattled northern city of Aleppo, which has been nearly torn apart by a surge of violence in recent weeks. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Negotiations are underway to extend a fragile cease-fire agreement in Syria to the embattled northern city of Aleppo, which a surge of violence has nearly torn apart in recent weeks, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.
Mr. Kerry was in Geneva to meet with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem of Syria; Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia; the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura; and other officials. “In the last weeks, the cessation of hostilities has been put to the test, and it has frayed in certain areas, and it has fallen completely in a few areas,” Mr. Kerry said in Geneva after meeting with the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. Mr. Kerry said he was particularly disturbed about air raids on a hospital and three health clinics in Aleppo, for which he blamed President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
“We’re getting closer to a place of understanding” on Aleppo, Mr. Kerry said. “But we have some work to do, and that’s why we’re here.” “The regime has clearly indicated the willingness, over a period of time now, to attack first responders, to attack health care workers and rescue workers,” Mr. Kerry said. “And the attack on this hospital is unconscionable, under any standard anywhere. It has to stop.” He added that “both sides — the opposition and the regime — have contributed to this chaos.”
Mr. Jubeir offered a forceful account of the situation in Aleppo, which before Syria’s five-year-old civil war was a thriving commercial and cultural center. Mr. Kerry said that he planned to talk to his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, on Monday evening, and that Mr. de Mistura would travel to Moscow on Tuesday, all part of an effort to restore a fragile cease-fire that was brokered in February, with American and Russian support, and is now at risk of collapse.
“What is happening in Aleppo is an outrage,” he said. “It’s a violation of all humanitarian laws. It’s a crime.” Mr. Kerry urged Russia to pressure Mr. Assad to stop the attacks. “This is the moment to try to make certain that what everybody has signed up to is, in fact, being delivered, being lived up to, without hypocrisy and without variation.”
He directly accused President Bashar al-Assad of Syria of violating a cease-fire agreement that has steadily eroded since it was arranged in February, despite American and Russian backing. Mr. Kerry said there could be no “legitimate political talks” until both parties carried out the agreement — a full cessation of hostilities throughout the country and the nationwide delivery of humanitarian aid. “And yet one party is blatantly violating that agreement,” he said, referring to the Syrian government.
“There is only one side that is flying airplanes, and that is Bashar al-Assad and his allies, so they are responsible for the massacre of women, children and the elderly,” Mr. Jubeir said. “They are responsible for the murder of doctors and medical personnel, and this situation, any way you slice it, will not stand. The world is not going to allow them to get away with this.” Speaking at a news conference with Mr. de Mistura, Mr. Kerry said that the deal was fraying in some areas and had collapsed in others and that legitimate talks on a cease-fire were impossible unless all of the involved parties were committed to it.
Although Aleppo is dominating the headlines, Mr. Kerry’s broader priority is reviving the delicate temporary truce that had appeared to hold until recently. Mr. Kerry said that Russia and the United States would add additional personnel in Geneva so that the cease-fire agreement could be monitored 24/7 — a declaration that left the unsettling impression that until now, the agreement, promoted as being of ultimate importance, had not been monitored around the clock by its sponsors.
Speaking at a news conference with Mr. de Mistura, who will hold talks on the partial truce in Russia on Tuesday, Mr. Kerry said that the deal was fraying in some areas and had collapsed in others. Mr. de Mistura added a note of reality, saying he appreciated that while Russia and the United States were developing an improved cease-fire monitoring system, “we need the political will; otherwise we would have only a mechanism.”
Referring to the attacks on medical facilities, Mr. Kerry accused the government of deliberately targeting them. “Well said,” Mr. Kerry said.
“It has to stop,” said Mr. Kerry, who added that both sides were contributing to the violence, and that legitimate talks on a cease-fire were impossible unless all of the involved parties were committed to it. Asked repeatedly whether he trusted the Russian government on the efforts to restore a truce in Aleppo, Mr. Kerry declined to answer.
In noting that the partial truce had fallen apart in some parts of Syria, Mr. Kerry acknowledged what has been clear for more than a week on the ground: The relative respite from violence brought by the two-month reduction in hostilities has come to a resounding end in many areas — especially Aleppo, where more than 200 people have died in the past week, most of them civilians. In noting that the partial truce had fallen apart in some parts of Syria, Mr. Kerry acknowledged what has been clear for more than a week on the ground: The relative respite from violence brought by the two-month reduction in hostilities has come to a resounding end in many areas, especially Aleppo, where more than 200 people have died in the past week, most of them civilians.
About two-thirds of those deaths have been on the rebel-held side of town, which is being pummeled anew by airstrikes and by bombs dropped from helicopters, including on a hospital.About two-thirds of those deaths have been on the rebel-held side of town, which is being pummeled anew by airstrikes and by bombs dropped from helicopters, including on a hospital.
But both sides have demonstrated a disregard for civilian life, with rebels firing mortar shells and missiles last week toward most of the government-held neighborhoods in Aleppo, in one of their worst barrages in recent months.But both sides have demonstrated a disregard for civilian life, with rebels firing mortar shells and missiles last week toward most of the government-held neighborhoods in Aleppo, in one of their worst barrages in recent months.
Yet as Mr. Kerry carries out shuttle diplomacy to try to revive the partial truce, it has been renewed in several areas, though not in Aleppo, where it is needed most.Yet as Mr. Kerry carries out shuttle diplomacy to try to revive the partial truce, it has been renewed in several areas, though not in Aleppo, where it is needed most.
The Syrian Army said in a statement on Monday that a temporary truce in the suburbs of Damascus and in the coastal province of Latakia would be extended for an additional 48 hours.The Syrian Army said in a statement on Monday that a temporary truce in the suburbs of Damascus and in the coastal province of Latakia would be extended for an additional 48 hours.
The Tass news agency in Russia quoted Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, head of the Russian coordination center in Syria, as saying only that talks about a cease-fire for Aleppo were continuing. The Tass news agency in Russia quoted Lt. Gen. Sergei Kurylenko, head of the Russian coordination center in Syria, as saying only that talks about a cease-fire for Aleppo were continuing.
The sticking point is apparently an unwillingness on the part of Russia to tell the Syrian government to stop its aerial bombardments on insurgent-held areas there.The sticking point is apparently an unwillingness on the part of Russia to tell the Syrian government to stop its aerial bombardments on insurgent-held areas there.
Mr. Kerry, as well as residents and opposition figures, insist that the Syrian government’s warplanes, in a campaign aided by Russia, are predominantly hitting areas not controlled by the Nusra Front, which has only a small presence in the city of Aleppo. Mr. Kerry, as well as residents and opposition figures, insist that the Syrian government’s warplanes, in a campaign aided by Russia, are predominantly hitting areas not controlled by the Nusra Front, which has only a small presence in Aleppo.
Instead, they are believed to be striking areas controlled by other insurgent groups, including some backed by the United States and its allies.Instead, they are believed to be striking areas controlled by other insurgent groups, including some backed by the United States and its allies.
The United States is considering whether to draw up a detailed map of so-called safe zones, in which civilians and member of moderate opposition groups could seek shelter from attacks by Mr. Assad’s military, The Associated Press reported. The United States is considering whether to draw up a detailed map of so-called safe zones, in which civilians and members of moderate opposition groups could seek shelter from attacks by Mr. Assad’s military, The Associated Press reported.
It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan or whether Moscow could persuade the Assad government to respect the zones. Such an agreement is also unlikely to be helpful if the sides cannot agree on what constitutes the violations the monitors are supposed to be watching for. It was not immediately clear whether Russia would accept such a plan, or could persuade the Assad government to respect the zones. Such an agreement is also unlikely to be helpful if the sides cannot agree on what constitutes the violations the monitors are supposed to be watching for.
Even if so-called hard lines were drawn on a map, and civilians and insurgents not affiliated with the Nusra Front were encouraged to go there, the plan would face major practical problems, given the difficulty of moving safely within the city.Even if so-called hard lines were drawn on a map, and civilians and insurgents not affiliated with the Nusra Front were encouraged to go there, the plan would face major practical problems, given the difficulty of moving safely within the city.
Rebel groups might not agree to give up areas that Russia believes are held by the Nusra Front, arguing that, in fact, they are held by local opposition fighters and seeing the plan as a ploy to allow the government to take them back. Rebel groups may not agree to give up areas that Russia believes are held by the Nusra Front, arguing that, in fact, they are held by local opposition fighters and seeing the plan as a ploy to allow the government to take them back.