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HNC Expects Russia to Turn 3-Hour Daily Truce in Aleppo Into Full Ceasefire

© Sputnik / Michael Alaeddin / Go to the mediabankDamaged buildings in Al-Ramouseh district in southern Aleppo
Damaged buildings in Al-Ramouseh district in southern Aleppo - Sputnik International
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The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) believes there is still no full cessation of hostilities on the ground in Syria enough for the start of the next round of Geneva talks, according to HNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani.

Syria. Damaged buildings in Al-Ramouseh district in southern Aleppo - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) expects  Russia to turn the recently-established daily three-hour truce in Aleppo into a full-fledged ceasefire, HNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani told Sputnik.

"I believe Russia knows very well that 3 hours are not enough in terms of allowing aid to the city. We need to see something really different… If Russia is able to suspend fire for 3 hours, I am sure it can do it for longer than that, it can activate the cessation of hostilities, which is what we are looking for," Kodmani said.

"Even if we are talking about a provisional measure for a momentarily relief, 3 hours are not enough, it's a sign that Russia is able to calibrate the intensity of this attack on the city," she added.

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria (4th L), during the Internal Syrian opposition delegation meeting, in Geneva, Switzerland on April 19, 2015. - Sputnik International
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The HNC welcomes rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara and believes that Turkey can be a "bridging power" in the process of the Syrian settlement, according to Kodmani.

"Any rapprochement between the big powers is an improvement. Because we have much of polarisation on the ground, and the Syrians pay the price for this polarization," Kodmani said.

"I believe Turkey has been a faithful supporter of the Syrian people, I think it realizes, being at a border with Syria, that if you want to bring stability to that region, there needs to be a serious political solution. So, coordination with Turkey is good, including in context of its rapprochement with Moscow… Turkey has a capacity to be a bridging power in this conflict, and i think it is seriously motivated to play a role and work hard on reaching a realistic solution," Kodmani stressed.

A file photo showing UN mediator on Syria Staffan de Mistura attends a meeting with the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) during Syria peace talks at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, April 15, 2016 - Sputnik International
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HNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani also stated that the committee believes there is still no full cessation of hostilities on the ground in Syria enough for the start of the next round of Geneva talks.

'There is a strategic choice of the opposition of going for the political solution, and the HNC has been calling for the restoring of cessation of hostilities, to make that possible. We would like to go to Geneva as soon as that is made possible. At the moment I cannot see any power telling us that the conditions allow us to have something constructive in Geneva. The messages we are getting have been that it's not time for politics at the moment, it's all about a military solution," Kodmani said.

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