Syria Ready to Resume Truce If Gets Guarantees of Evacuation From Aleppo

Damascus is ready to resume the ceasefire if it is provided with guarantees that civilians would be able to leave Aleppo during the humanitarian pause, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On October 20, the humanitarian pause was introduced in the embattled city of Aleppo to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo via eight designated corridors.

During the humanitarian pause, al-Nusra Front terrorist group, recently renamed as Jabhat Fatah al Sham, prevented civilians from fleeing the city, attacking them. On Sunday, the government forces started offensive in the south of Aleppo after the end of the humanitarian pause.

“We are still ready to resume this truce, but under a condition that we get a message with guarantees from those who support terrorism that civilians would be able to use that truce,” Muallem said at the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

On Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Assad extended the validity of the decree on the amnesty for militants who decided to lay down weapons.