Russia, US to hold talks on rebel pullout from Aleppo

Beirut: Russian and US experts will meet in the coming days to determine the routes and timing for a total rebel withdrawal from eastern Aleppo, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

“During the Russian-American consultations the concrete route and timeframe for the withdrawal of all fighters from eastern Aleppo will be agreed upon,” the Russian diplomat said, indicating that the talks in Geneva would likely start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

“As soon as these routes and timeframes are agreed on, a ceasefire can come into effect,” Lavrov said.

The discussions would be based on proposals made by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome on Friday, he said.

Russia’s top diplomat also denounced a proposed UN resolution demanding a temporary ceasefire in Aleppo, calling it a “provocative step”.

The UN Security Council was on Monday expected vote on the resolution, drafted by Egypt, New Zealand and Spain, that calls for a truce of at least seven days.

“Taking into account all aspects and the current development of the situation, the draft resolution - coming against the backdrop of the Russian-American initiative - is, for the most part, a provocative step that undermines Russian-American efforts,” Lavrov told a press conference.

Despite concessions by those who drafted the text - an early version demanded a 10-day truce - it looks likely Moscow will use its veto to torpedo the measure.

Syrian rebels on Monday ruled out a pullout from east Aleppo despite sweeping government advances.

The Syrian army has seized two-thirds of east Aleppo and continued to advance on Monday, pounding remaining opposition-held territory.

Officials from two rebel groups in Aleppo said they would reject any plan that involved the withdrawal of fighters from the city.

Yasser Al Yousuf of the Noor Al Deen Al Zinki rebel group said any proposals “for the exit of rebel groups would be unacceptable.”

“It is for the Russians to leave Aleppo, and for the sectarian militias to leave Aleppo and Syria and stop interfering in the internal affairs of Syrians,” he said.

“The revolutionaries will not leave Aleppo and will fight the Russian and Iranian occupation until the last drop of blood,” said Abu Abdul Rahman Al Hamawi of the Army of Islam, another rebel group.

“This is our land and the land of our ancestors, and we will stay on it, and defend it, God willing,” he said. “The revolution will continue until victory.”

Both officials said rebels remained willing to approve a UN plan for the entry of humanitarian aid into the east, which has been besieged by government forces since mid-July.

Rebel forces seized east Aleppo in 2012, and the army last month launched a major operation to recapture it.

So far it has seized two-thirds of the east in a ferocious assault that has killed nearly 320 civilians and over 200 rebels, according to a monitoring group.

Meanwhile, rebel shelling of the government-held part of Aleppo killed a Russian nurse in a makeshift Russian hospital in the city on Monday while the Defence Ministry in Moscow said a Russian fighter jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning from a sortie over Syria.

The developments were a blow to Russia, which has been one of the staunchest supporters of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in his country’s bitter civil war, now in its sixth year.

The shelling in Aleppo that killed the female nurse also wounded two Russian doctors working in the field hospital, a Russian officer in Aleppo told reporters. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The hospital equipment was part of aid that Moscow had sent into the Furqan neighbourhood in the government part of Aleppo the previous day.

In Moscow, the Russian Defence Ministry said a Su-33 fighter jet, based on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning from a sortie over Syria. The ministry said that “because of the failure of the arrester system’s cable, the Su-33 fighter rolled off the deck” on Monday.

The pilot successfully ejected and was unharmed in the incident, the ministry said, adding that Russian military operations over Syria will not be affected by the incident.

This is the second loss of an aircraft from Russia’s only aircraft carrier since it arrived off Syria last month. A MiG-29 crashed into the sea on November 15 while attempting to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov.