U.S., Russia agree to extend ceasefire to Aleppo

The United States and Russia have agreed to extend a cessation of hostilities in Syria to include Aleppo province and will coordinate to strengthen monitoring of the new arrangement, the State Department said on Wednesday. It is critical that Russia redoubles efforts to press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with the new arrangement while […]

The United States and Russia have agreed to extend a cessation of hostilities in Syria to include Aleppo province and will coordinate to strengthen monitoring of the new arrangement, the State Department said on Wednesday.
It is critical that Russia redoubles efforts to press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to comply with the new arrangement while Washington does its part with Syrian opposition forces, department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
“Our objective remains, and has always been, a single nationwide cessation of hostilities covering all of Syria – not a series of local truces,” Toner said.
Since the cessation of hostilities went into effect at midnight in Syria, “we have seen an overall decrease in violence in these areas, even though there have been reports of continued fighting in some locations,” Toner said.