Syrian troops tighten Aleppo siege, urge gunmen to give up

The army on Tuesday said it will keep providing Aleppo residents with basic necessities, but called all those living in rebel-held parts of the city to kick out “mercenaries and foreign fighters”.

At a press briefing in Geneva, Mr.de Mistura explained that he had to have enough support to give sufficient opportunity for an efficient resumption (…) of a third round of talks on the Syrian issue in August.

On dire conditions in Aleppo regarding the civilians, he indicated that the war-fares in and outside the large city have jeopardized livelihood for some 300,000 civilians.

Russian Federation and the United States have recently concluded bilateral talks on Syria, and de Mistura said it is important first to see how steps agreed upon there play out.

High-ranking Russian, U.S., and United Nations officials will meet in Geneva next week to discuss the crisis in Syria, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, cited by Reuters.

“We are determined to actually look for a proper date in August for relaunching the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva”, de Mistura told reporters before a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The discussions followed Kerry’s visit to Moscow earlier this month.

“The talks are not going to wait for improvement in Aleppo or in Damascus”, he said.

Kerry has defended the proposal despite deep scepticism among top American military and intelligence officials, including Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, over working with Russian Federation.

Asked Thursday about this, Mr.de Mistura has found it necessary to clarify his positions regarding Al-Nosra.

“We have a constructive attitude for the work with our partners and hope that we’ll be able to advance as regards the intra-Syrian negotiations process”, he said. A siege on rebel-held areas, and government-controlled ones have loosened a bit with the entry of aid supplies to such areas respectively.