Russia says no halt to Aleppo blitz

MOSCOW: Russia signalled there would be no halt to the devastating bombardment of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo after the US threatened a diplomatic rift if the violence doesn’t stop.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said his country was willing to support temporary cessations of hostilities in the northern city for 48 hours at a time, the Interfax and state-run Tass news services reported.

“With the goal of ensuring humanitarian access, we’ve repeatedly proposed 48-hour pauses in Aleppo,” Interfax quoted Mr Ryabkov as saying. But he ruled out even a seven-day truce, saying a period that long would allow “terrorist groups to rebuild supplies, rest their fighters and regroup”.

Russia came forward with its proposal after US Secretary of State John Kerry threatened on Wednesday to break off contacts with Moscow over Syria unless the air offensive ends.

The fighting in Aleppo has shattered an agreement between the two powers to halt 5 1/2 years of violence in Syria and proceed to peacemaking, and deepened the humanitarian crisis in the city.

Mr Ryabkov said Russia doesn’t see any alternative to its agreement with the US, but “you can’t talk to Russia in the language of ultimatums. It is unacceptable”, Tass reported.

Fierce clashes continued on Thursday between Syrian regime forces backed by allied militias and mostly Islamist rebel groups in Aleppo’s historic district, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria through activists on the ground.

At least 96 children have been killed and 223 others injured this week alone, according to Anthony Lake, the executive director of the UN Children’s Fund.

Doctors were forced to let some children die while saving others with scarce medical supplies, Mr Lake said in an emailed statement dated Wednesday.

“The world is watching these horrors unfold,” he said. “The murder of the innocents in Aleppo must stop.”