Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Thursday that his country wants a “long-term” ceasefire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Russian news agency Interfax quoted him as saying.
Bogdanov’s remarks came after Moscow’s announcement of its initiative of “a regime of calm” for two days in Aleppo starting on Thursday.
Full control of Aleppo is one of the major objectives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Control over Syria’s largest city has been split in the past years between the government and armed opposition factions.
The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the cease-fire is still in effect in Darya, in rural Damascus. The statement did not state the entities with which Russia had discussed the cease-fire agreement in Aleppo.