Parties outline conditions for ceasefire in Syria

“Secretary Kerry also restated his deep concern over the indiscriminate nature of continued bombing by Russian military aircraft and the lives being lost as a result”, Kirby said.

This requires an immediate cessation of hostilities, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, and a return to peace talks, he said. The Russian foreign minister also emphasized that “Turkey’s provocative actions that undermine the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic” are “inexcusable.” .

Turkey, other Sunni regional powers and Western countries have supported insurgents fighting against Assad, whose forces are bolstered by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah.

He pointed out that countries, like Turkey, must stop sending more terrorists and arms as well as providing logistical support to the terrorists. Turkey and other countries, he added, were also required in the draft resolution to respect the resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding counterterrorism. It was turned down by France.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based body monitoring Syria’s war, reported continuing Russian air strikes in Aleppo province and several other parts of the country.

The Saudi-backed group known as the High Negotiations Committee says however that the Syrian government must lift blockades off rebel-held communities in Syria and release detainees from prisons.

No time has yet been set for such a broader meeting, she added.

President Bashar al-Assad says he is prepared for a ceasefire in Syria’s civil war providing it would not be exploited by “terrorists”.

Regime backer Russian Federation and opposition supporter Washington are meant to be co-chairing a United Nations panel that is working on the modalities of the temporary truce. He said the move would have to be studied carefully, “because you don’t want such weapons to fall into the wrong hands”.

“This is a decision that the worldwide coalition will have to make”.

“We will announce a new date later”, RIA Novosti news agency quoted the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

After the Friday meeting, the U.S. representative Samantha Power accused Russian Federation of trying to “distract the world” from its bombing campaign in support of the Syrian regime.

Hopes of reaching an agreement through a United Nations peace process have floundered and the next round of proposed talks have been postponed as fighting continues.

“Everyone recognizes the complexity of this endeavor, and there is certainly a lot more work to do”, Kerry said in London, where he met with senior British officials early Saturday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said a “provisional agreement” has been reached on a cessation of hostilities that could begin in coming days.

World powers represented by 17 countries in the International Syria Support Group on February 12 agreed in Munich to cease hostilities in war-wrecked Syria.

Moscow has complained that Turkey is about to send ground forces into Syria, and it called for Security Council action to block that at an emergency meeting Friday.

“In general, Russian Federation believes that such cross-border shelling of Syria’s territory by Turkish artillery is inadmissible”.

“We can only express regret that this draft resolution was rejected”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.