US, Europe, Gulf leaders to discuss Aleppo crisis

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his French, German and Qatari counterparts in Paris later this week in an attempt to halt fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the State Department said Wednesday.

The move comes after Kerry reportedly declined to attend a multilateral meeting on Syria that was scheduled for Wednesday in Geneva.

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met earlier in the day in Germany, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Toner reiterated that Washington is still “committed to the de-escalation of violence” and a return to the negotiation table. He criticized the Syrian regime and Russia for fueling violence in Syria and causing what he called a dire situation in the rebel-held city of Aleppo.

With the support of Russian air power, forces aligned with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have reportedly taken control of the majority of eastern Aleppo.

“Even if the Syrian regime is able with Russia's help to retake Aleppo, that doesn't mean that the violence, the conflict is going to end,” Toner warned.

He also addressed the question of whether Russia is striking Nusrah Front, a group that rebranded itself as Jabhat al-Fath al-Sham after detaching from al-Qaeda. Toner said although the U.S. and Russia recognizes Nusrah as a terror group, Russia is not hitting the group.

Kerry will be in Paris from Dec. 8 through Dec. 11, Toner said.