Merkel, Putin, Hollande to meet tomorrow on Syria

18 October 2016, 5:53 pm

Edit

French and Russian presidents Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a “working meeting” on the Syrian crisis tomorrow in Berlin, the French leader’s office says.

Maarouf, a 12-year-old Syrian boy waits to be rescued from the rubble of a building following a reported air strike on the the rebel-held Qaterji neighborhood of Aleppo on October 16, 2016. (AFP PHOTO/THAER MOHAMMED)

The meeting will be aimed at “giving the same message to Vladimir Putin on Syria: a durable ceasefire in Aleppo and humanitarian access so that the devastation of this city can end,” says an aide to Hollande.

Russia announced an eight-hour ceasefire in Aleppo commencing at 0500 GMT on Thursday to allow time for Syrian civilians to flee the besieged city and to permit humanitarian workers to deliver aid. Moscow said earlier today that Russian and Syrian forces have halted airstrikes, in what the Kremlin calls a “goodwill” gesture, amid mounting criticism of Russia for backing the brutal regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

— Agencies