Turkey continues to support Syria truce, FM says

By Kasim Ileri

NEW YORK

Turkey continues to encourage the Syrian opposition to abide by a truce recently brokered by the U.S. and Russia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.

The comments came at a ministerial meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York.

The body agreed "despite continued violence, there was still an imperative to pursue a nationwide cessation of hostilities based on the arrangement reached last week in Geneva between the United States and Russia," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a readout of the meeting.

According to a statement from Cavusoglu spokesman's office, he told member countries’ representatives that the Syrian regime would be responsible for any violations to a recent cessation of hostilities deal.

Cavusoglu stressed the importance of unfettered humanitarian aid access to Syria’s besieged neighborhoods but acknowledged he does not know how to realize the goals of the U.S.-Russia deal in an atmosphere where UN aid convoys are hit in airstrikes.

During their meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry roundly condemned a deadly airstrike Monday that targeted a UN aid convoy, according to Kirby. The strike killed 12 people including aid workers and drivers. The strike followed an announcement hours earlier by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the truce was no longer in effect.

America's top diplomat "and the other ministers expressed their condolences for the loss of innocent life and reaffirmed the absolute necessity of establishing immediately the unimpeded, safe and sustained flow of access for humanitarian supplies," Kirby said in a statement.

Kerry told reporters after the ISSG meeting that the cessation of hostilities has not yet ended.

The U.S. and Russia agreed Sept. 8 to a seven-day cessation of hostilities under which moderate opposition and regime forces would cease armed conflict and allow humanitarian aid into the country. It began on Sept. 12 and was extended for 48 hours last week.

On the weekend, U.S.-led anti-Daesh aircraft hit a Syrian military camp and killed 62 Syrian soldiers.

The ISSG includes Turkey, U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, France, EU, Arab League and several other countries.