Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the Syrian army has suspended combat operations in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, Russian media reported.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the Syrian army had suspended its military activity in eastern Aleppo to allow large-scale evacuations of civilians.
The claim was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday evening on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in the German city of Hamburg.
“Today, the Syrian army’s military activity in eastern Aleppo was suspended as a regular and the largest so far operation for the evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo is being implemented,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
Russian foreign minister said the move would allow the evacuation of some 8,000 civilians trapped in the battle zone.
Meanwhile, Financial Times reports that speaking of Lavrov’s comments, Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said: “Obviously that statement is an indication that something positive could happen. But we are going to have to wait and see whether those statements are reflected on the ground.”
According to Euronews, the United Nations’ humanitarian adviser for Syria yesterday had some harsh words about international efforts to evacuate civilians.
Warning that 150,000 people faced “extermination”, Jan Egeland said five months of negotiations over aid plans had produced “nothing” – adding that it was up to the United States and Russia to try to coordinate a deal.
The two countries were still “poles apart” in how they viewed events in Syria, he said after a meeting in Geneva. Lavrov said later it had been agreed that Russian and US military experts would meet in Geneva on Saturday to discuss Aleppo.
