US: ‘Definitely more’ violations of Syrian truce seen

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON

The U.S. sees "definitely more and more signs" of the cessation of hostilities not holding in and around Aleppo, a State Department spokesman.

"That is not where we want things to go in Syria," John Kirby noted Monday, adding that the U.S. wanted to see all parties to the truce abide by their obligations as the deal was "still fragile".

Most violations were still being conducted by the regime, he said.

The cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in February between the U.S. and Russia, the co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), working toward a cease-fire in Syria.

The government of Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups -- excluding Daesh and al-Nusra -- were supposed to abide by the deal. But clashes continue in intermingled areas such as Aleppo, where several parties are currently operating.

At least 614 civilians have been killed in Syria since the deal took effect, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Kirby described Aleppo as a "fluid, dynamic environment", saying it was difficult to decide which fighting groups belonged to the opposition and which were the enemy.

Earlier Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, about the situation in Syria.

"The secretary remains fully committed to seeing the cessation stay in place," Kirby said.

"We all should be looking for ways to keep the cessation in place, which obviously, still is very fragile."

Kirby's comments came after Kerry, according to an article by The New York Times published Saturday, said the U.S. proposed to Russia a new 24-hour monitoring system in Syria to avoid renewed fighting.

Critics have charged that the proposal could be a kind of partitioning of Syria between the parties.

"Let me just kill that idea right out front," Kirby said in response. "We remain committed, as we always have, to a whole, unified, nonsectarian Syria."

Kerry on Monday also spoke separately with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan regarding the occupied Karabakh conflict.

In both calls, Kerry and the presidents discussed the need for the sides to "strictly adhere to the cease-fire" and to enter into negotiations "on a comprehensive settlement", Kirby said.

Armenian militia has occupied the Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region since 1993, similar to pro-Russian militia that have illegally occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014.