Assad told to allow aid into Aleppo, Moscow says

Russia has given fresh assurances it has impressed on the Syrian government it must allow aid into rebel-held east Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, but said it needed reassurances that the US was putting pressure on Syrian opposition groups to abide by their side of the bargain.

The demands came as aid convoys remained stuck on the Syrian side of the Turkish border, unable to enter Syria’s second city where as many as 250,000 citizens are in dire need of help.

Pressure on ceasefire

The lack of progress on aid, nearly a week after the ceasefire agreement was sealed between Russia and the US in Geneva, is placing pressure on the fragile ceasefire with more reports of clashes, some inside the ceasefire area.

Government-held areas were shelled in eastern Damascus, wounding three people, Syrian state media said.

The aid impasse came as Russia put pressure on the US to release the text of the agreement, and urged the US to allow it to form the basis of a UN security council resolution next week.

The US says it is inadvisable to release the wording, but the French government argues it would be impossible for the UN security council to endorse the deal without knowing its details.

Syria and the refugee crisis will dominate the annual UN general assembly when it begins next week in New York.

It had been hoped that by the time the general assembly met, aid would be flowing into Syria, the ceasefire deepening, and a new era of Russian-American military co-operation possibly under way with the two sides jointly staging air strikes against the Islamic State terror group and other targets.

Checkpoints

But reporters in Aleppo said no movement could be seen on the main route for humanitarian assistance into the east of the city.

There were reports that Russians had taken over key checkpoints from the Syrian government, but it was not clear if this was ahead of handing them on to the Red Crescent, a key demand of the local council.

The council has objected to the presence of Russian troops in the area, or any effort to look at the content of the aid trucks.

The UN had hoped that 40 trucks of food – enough to feed 80,000 people for one month – could be delivered to besieged rebel-held eastern parts of Aleppo as soon as possible.

– Guardian service