Ankara will initiate proposals for humanitarian aid to Aleppo at a key international meeting that is expected to be held in Lausanne on Saturday, as world powers prepare for new truce talks, according to Turkish presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın.
Speaking at a press briefing in Ankara on Thursday, Kalın said Turkey had three topics on its agenda regarding the Syrian crisis.
“First, there is the immediate halt of clashes in Aleppo and the delivery of humanitarian aid. Second, there is the resumption of the political process under the framework of the U.N. Third, there is the issue of the fight against Daesh [the Arabic acronym of the Islamic State – IS] in Syria” Kalın said.
Russia said Thursday that it was prepared to secure safe passage for rebels to abandon Aleppo even as it maintained air strikes on the battleground.
“We are ready to ensure the safe withdrawal of armed rebels, the unimpeded passage of civilians to and from eastern Aleppo, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid there” Russian Lt.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said in a televised briefing.
On the ground in the ravaged city, at least seven civilians were killed in a series of early-morning strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
On the northeastern outskirts of the city, advancing regime troops captured several hilltops overlooking opposition-held areas. Several major international efforts have failed to secure a political solution to Syria’s brutal war, which has cost more than 300,000 lives. A new diplomatic push will take place this weekend.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are expected to be joined at talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Saturday by their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and possibly Qatar, Lavrov told CNN International in an interview on Wednesday.
Then in London on sunday, Kerry will likely meet with his European counterparts from Britain, France and Germany. Kerry will attend both meetings to discuss “a multilateral approach to resolving the crisis in Syria, including a sustained cessation of violence and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries,” said his spokesman, John Kirby. Reports stated that Iran will also attend the meeting in Lausanne.
U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura will also attend the talks. Lavrov told CNN television in an interview that he hoped the discussions in Switzerland could help “launch a serious dialogue” based on the now-defunct U.S.-Russian pact.