Russia rules out any possibility for another truce in Syria’s Aleppo

It later extended the ceasefire for another two days. The fighters, however, rejected the offer.

“The question of renewing the humanitarian pause is not relevant now,” Sergey Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister, told Interfax news agency on Monday, in the first official comment from Moscow on why it did not extend the ceasefire further.
Fighting intensifies in Syria’s Aleppo

In order to renew the ceasefire, “our opponents must ensure appropriate behaviour by the anti-government groups that in particular sabotaged the medical evacuation that was intended during the humanitarian pause.”

Ryabkov chided the US-led coalition, saying that it was criticising Syria and Russia instead of “really exerting influence on the opposition, the rebels”.

“Over the last three days, what was needed did not happen,” he said.

Ryabkov also said that he did not see the “conditions” for ministerial-level negotiations on Syria before the US elections on November 8, after a Lausanne meeting on October 15 that ended with no breakthrough.

“It’s almost no time until the US elections. To be honest, I don’t see the conditions for a ministerial meeting,” he said, insisting that Syria and Russia were fulfilling international agreements.

The Kremlin had previously hailed the humanitarian ceasefire as a “manifestation of goodwill” as it faced mounting criticism over its bombing of reastern Aleppo in support of a government offensive on the city.