US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are holding a meeting on Syrian issue in Geneva. Damascus said that it is ready to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to prove its innocence in the use of poisonous gas against a militant-held area in the city of Aleppo.
US Secretary of State John F. Kerry (left) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Photo: Getty Images / AFP / Philippe Desmazes)
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Geneva to hold a meeting on Syrian issue with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
According to the US State Department, the Friday’s meeting would be focused on “reducing violence, expanding humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people and moving towards a political solution needed to end the civil war.”
Over the past two weeks, Lavrov and Kerry several times met in Geneva, as well as the diplomats held a meeting during the G20 summit in China. However, they failed to resolve “technical issues.”
Earlier this week, the US administration “made the last offer to the Russian side to reach Syrian agreement,” and noted that a meeting between the two sides would not be held if issues, regarding the ceasefire, are not resolved.
Reportedly, Lavrov went to Geneva before Kerry’s arrival and held a meeting with UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who calls on the US and Russia to reach an agreement that would allow to deliver a humanitarian aid to Syrian settlements.
The day before the meeting, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that Russia has spread global instability, and expressed doubts on whether Moscow genuinely wants a ceasefire in Syria.
“Unfortunately so far, Russia, with its support for the Assad regime, has made the situation in Syria more dangerous, more prolonged and more violent. That has contributed to what President Obama this weekend called the ‘gaps of trust’ that exist between our two countries,” Carter said, speaking at Oxford University in England on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Damascus government said that it is ready to cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to prove its innocence in the use of poisonous gas against a militant-held area in the city of Aleppo.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, terrorist groups and their sponsors just want to undermine recent advances by the Syrian army.
“Terrorist groups and their Western and Persian Gulf patrons regularly disseminate anti-Syria propaganda through fabricating baseless allegations about the use of chemical agents, like chlorine gas. Such attempts are aimed at misleading the international community and distracting the world public opinion from the crimes, which they are committing in Syria,” the Foreign Ministry’s statement, released on Thursday, read.
Syrian officials also announced that Damascus is ready to cooperate with the OPCW on claims that Syrian helicopters dropped bombs with chlorine on Sukri neighborhood of Aleppo on Tuesday.
However, it seems that every time, when the Syrian Armed Forces once again push the ‘moderate’ opposition in the province of Aleppo, messages about some poisonous gas attacks in the area suddenly appear, and the Western partners start to intensify the negotiations on a ‘truce.’
Another exercise in futility
Apparently a ceasefire plan has been reached, first 48hrs, leading to 7 days, then negotiations with “all” parties involved. Just as the SAA and allies are making amazing gains not only in Aleppo, but on virtually all fronts, the US calls for a truce. Second time the Syrian Arab Army has been blocked from victory by a ceasefire. The US will supposedly , separate their “moderates” from the Al Qaeda forces south and west of Aleppo. No mention of Turkey , will they just continue to “battle ISIS” , and gain Syria”s oil fields ? Tomorrow should see some details .