Obama administration struggles to craft ceasefire in Syria

On Tuesday, the day before he heads to Munich, Secretary of State John Kerry raised concerns about Russian Federation during a State Department appearance with Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry.

Kerry and Lavrov are to meet with foreign ministers from Europe and the Middle East in Munich on February 11 in a bid to revive efforts to end the five-year-old war.

Testifying to the Senate today, DIA chief Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart declared the U.S. “calculus” on the Syrian Civil War had completely changed over the last six months because of Russian involvement, saying that President Bashar al-Assad is no longer on the way out, and likely to be a “long-term player”.

“The interlocutors shared opinion of a need to achieve an early ceasefire and ensure humanitarian access to all blocked settlements, and also considered a possibility to coordinate respective agreements within the context of implementation of Resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council”, it said.

Lavrov believes that the U.S.-led coalition will not allow Turkey to implement plans for full-scale invasion of Syria.

“We have always considered and continue to consider that comments from the chief administrator of an global organisation… should remain impartial and objective”, the ministry said in a statement. The conflict has killed more than a quarter-million people, created Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State to carve out its own territory across parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq.

The U.S. has said both, angering opposition groups and their supporters like the Turks and Saudis.

“Russia’s activities from Aleppo and in the region are making it much more hard to be able to come to the table and be able to have a serious conversation”, Kerry said, according to Reuters.

US and other diplomats said the United Nations is expected to have a key role in determining where the aid is most badly needed and guaranteeing it is delivered.

“We think that this opinion is incorrect”, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

“Russia needs to join all of us in understanding that this cannot go on”, said Kerry.