Ceasefire, Humanitarian Access to Aleppo Precondition for Geneva Talks on Syria

WEIMAR (Sputnik) — The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland support resumption of negotiations on Syrian settlement in Geneva and consider introduction of humanitarian pauses in Aleppo a precondition for the start of the talks, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Sunday.

"We said at this meeting that we would like to resume talks on Syria in Geneva in the framework of UN Security Council resolution, but there is a prerequisite — a ceasefire and humanitarian access. We are concerned about the situation in Aleppo. All measures aimed at alleviating the suffering of civilians should be supported," he said at a joint press conference with his German and Polish counterparts.

Aleppo has been under siege by militant groups, including Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar ash-Sham and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as Nusra Front, classified as terrorist organization in Russia. The city has seen intense fighting over the past few months, with the Syrian army and local militia forces managing to encircle large groups of militants in the eastern districts of the city.

On August 18, the Russian Defense Ministry welcomed UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura's proposal for a 48-hour pause in fighting in Aleppo and expressed readiness to implement the first humanitarian pause to supply the city with aid as a "pilot project."

The situation in Aleppo was at the center of attention during talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.

The latest round of the UN-mediated Geneva talks on peaceful settlement of the conflict in Syria took place in Geneva on April 13-27.