(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime rejects any ceasefire negotiated by any party in rebel-held eastern Aleppo unless what it describes as 'terrorist groups' there depart, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement carried by state media.
Moscow said on Monday that Russian and U.S. officials would meet this week to discuss a possible rebel withdrawal from Aleppo. A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington would embrace that as a step to save lives.
On Sunday, rebel groups told the United States they will not leave Aleppo after Moscow called for talks with Washington over a full withdrawal of rebel fighters from the city's besieged eastern districts, a rebel official told Reuters.
Speaking from Turkey, senior rebel official Zakaria Malahifji said the message was delivered to U.S. officials in contacts on Saturday following the statement from Russia, Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.
On Monday, at least 47 people were killed and lore than 115 more wounded in the joint air strikes by Russian and Assad warplanes. Activists said 150 raid were conducted against the besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo as regime made rapid advances.
The Russian-backed Syrian army has captured two thirds of eastern Aleppo. The Assad regime has also been supported by Shi'ite militias from countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
The loss of east Aleppo -- a rebel stronghold since 2012 -- would be the biggest blow to Syria's opposition in more than five years.
Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday for a week-long ceasefire, with Moscow arguing that rebels used such pauses in the fighting to reinforce, causing more fighting and harm to civilians.
Russia, Assad's most powerful foreign supporter, has conducted a campaign of air strikes against the rebels since September 2015, including in Aleppo.
It says it is targeting the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, a former al Qaeda affiliate previously known as the Nusra Front, in the city. Rebels based in Aleppo say that Fateh al-Sham is not present there in significant numbers. (With Reuters)
Moscow said on Monday that Russian and U.S. officials would meet this week to discuss a possible rebel withdrawal from Aleppo. A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington would embrace that as a step to save lives.
On Sunday, rebel groups told the United States they will not leave Aleppo after Moscow called for talks with Washington over a full withdrawal of rebel fighters from the city's besieged eastern districts, a rebel official told Reuters.
Speaking from Turkey, senior rebel official Zakaria Malahifji said the message was delivered to U.S. officials in contacts on Saturday following the statement from Russia, Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.
On Monday, at least 47 people were killed and lore than 115 more wounded in the joint air strikes by Russian and Assad warplanes. Activists said 150 raid were conducted against the besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo as regime made rapid advances.
The Russian-backed Syrian army has captured two thirds of eastern Aleppo. The Assad regime has also been supported by Shi'ite militias from countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
The loss of east Aleppo -- a rebel stronghold since 2012 -- would be the biggest blow to Syria's opposition in more than five years.
Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday for a week-long ceasefire, with Moscow arguing that rebels used such pauses in the fighting to reinforce, causing more fighting and harm to civilians.
Russia, Assad's most powerful foreign supporter, has conducted a campaign of air strikes against the rebels since September 2015, including in Aleppo.
It says it is targeting the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, a former al Qaeda affiliate previously known as the Nusra Front, in the city. Rebels based in Aleppo say that Fateh al-Sham is not present there in significant numbers. (With Reuters)
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