US, Russia tussle over Syria cease-fire deal

Syrian government forces surround beleaguered city of Aleppo

The US and Russia on Friday grappled over plans to halt the fighting in Syria, as government forces tightened the noose around the beleaguered city of Aleppo.

In Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry was once more locked in talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, but US officials warned that negotiations could not go on forever without a breakthrough.

Washington wants Moscow to help clinch a cease-fire, get humanitarian aid to civilians and – eventually – set the stage for political talks to end a fiveyear war that has killed more than 290,000. The two powers back opposite sides in the civil war, with Moscow supporting Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government and Washington behind a coalition of rebel groups it regards as moderate.

Senior officials travelling with Kerry said he would not have flown out once again to new face-to-face talks with Lavrov unless he thought there was a chance of progress.

A US official described the talks as “crisp and businesslike,” focused on specific technical details of how the cease-fire would be observed.

In a break in proceedings, the US delegation was to update Washington on progress. But officials warned there was no guarantee of a final agreement before both men return home, just four days after the pair met in China and failed to narrow their differences.

The ministers met in the familiar confines of a hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva and made brief remarks to reporters about North Korea’s latest nuclear test before beginning closed-door talks on Syria.

UN envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said a successful outcome from the talks could provide a major boost towards resolving the conflict.

“[It] would have a major impact on humanitarian access, and in turn would have a positive impact on the way the political process would be relaunched,” De Mistura said.

Washington wants concrete steps from Russia to force Assad to stop bombing his own people, respect a cease-fire and lift the siege of Aleppo.

Pro-government forces have taken back a strategically important district on Aleppo’s southern outskirts, rolling back nearly every gain from monthlong rebel offensive there.