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10Dec16

Paris meeting on Syria agrees on need to facilitate humanitarian aid

France on Saturday convened a new round of talks on the situation in Syrian city of Aleppo, during which participants stressed the vital necessity to stop bombing and facilitate humanitarian aid before a genuine political transition.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his counterparts of the U.S., Germany, Britain, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, discussed steps to be taken to end the civilian war.

However, the Paris meeting ended without a breakthrough.

"We need to tie down the conditions for a genuine political transition, and negotiations must resume on a clear basis within the framework of the UN resolution 2254," Ayrault said.

At a joint press conference, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "to show a little grace" to save lives and to "do their utmost to bring it to a close".

Kerry will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later in the day in Geneva to try to reach a ceasefire deal to allow civilians and fighters to leave to safer areas.

As fighting escalated in rebel-held districts of Aleppo and left hundreds of victims, Syrian opposition backers who met in Paris urged an immediate end of bombing and to facilitate access to humanitarian aid.

Since 2012, Aleppo, Syria's second largest city and commercial hub, has been torn in two parts with western area remaining under Syrian government control and eastern districts held by rebels.

In September, Syrian military backed by Russian air force, intensified its airstrikes on rebel positions in Aleppo and captured main districts, an offensive seen as a turning point in the six-year civil war.

[Source: Xinhua, Paris, 10Dec16]
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