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Conflict in Syria

Germany wants Russia to use influence on Assad

The German government’s spokesperson called for stopping the bloodshed and creating a UN-controlled humanitarian corridor for providing the population of Aleppo with food

Civilians in Aleppo (archive) Valery Sharifulin/TASS

Civilians in Aleppo (archive)

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

BERLIN, August 15 /TASS/. Germany has called on Russia to use its influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to force him to settle the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, the German government’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert told a briefing in Berlin on Monday.

"A call to Russia means using its influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," Seibert said commenting on the situation in Aleppo.

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He called for stopping the bloodshed and creating a UN-controlled humanitarian corridor for providing the population of Aleppo with food. The corridors, which Russia had mentioned, were either not opened or turned out to be ineffective in rendering assistance to Aleppo’s people," Seibert said.

All military hostilities in Aleppo stop for three hours daily as of August 11 to allow humanitarian convoys into the Syrian city. Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the operations department of the Russian Army General Staff, said last week that humanitarian aid ‘windows’ would be open from 10am to 1pm local time (coincides with Moscow time) to guarantee the safe passage of relief convoys into Aleppo.

All military hostilities, aviation and artillery strikes will be halted during that time, Rudskoi said.

Rudskoi also noted that Russian military experts would continue discussing the relief operation in Aleppo with the United Nations and the United States.

"We are ready for a constructive dialogue with all the sides interested in settling the Syrian crisis. We support the proposals by the UN to establish joint control over the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Aleppo along the Castello road," Rudskoi said.

Moscow and Damascus launched a joint humanitarian operation in Aleppo on July 28. Several safe corridors, which civilians and militants can use to leave the city, have opened. A special corridor exists for delivering food, medical supplies and essentials to Aleppo. -0-fil

Berlin believes that the three-hour humanitarian aid windows are not enough for settling the humanitarian crisis, Seibert said on Monday.

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