Syria Proposes Ceasefire in Aleppo
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Syria's foreign minister said he has handed Russia plans for a ceasefire in Aleppo, and was ready to exchange lists with rebel forces on a possible prisoner swap.
In a news conference on Friday in Moscow, Walid al-Muallem said he had handed his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, details of the ceasefire, plus plans for a prisoner exchange and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Syria.
The offer came hours before the main opposition bloc, the Syrian National Coalition, was due to decide whether it would participate in peace talks scheduled by the UN next week in Geneva.
Washington and Moscow have been trying to negotiate confidence-building measures to force the two sides to the table in Geneva. The SNC has previously demanded the resignation of Assad before it commits to talks.
"Taking into the account the role of the Russian Federation in ending the bloodshed in Syria, as well as our trustworthy relations, I have handed Minister Lavrov today a plan of security measures in Aleppo," Muallem said.
"In that regard I asked Minister Lavrov to use his contacts to implement this plan and to establish a specific time when all military actions in this area should be ceased."
Muallem said his government was committed to ending bloodshed in the country and fighting "terrorism" - the regime term for rebels, Al Jazeera reported.
The meeting between Lavrov and Muallem took place less than a week before the "Geneva II" peace conference.