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Russia regrets suspension of Syria peace talks

Thursday, 04 February 2016 12:01 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 February 2016 1:33 PM ]

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov

Russia says it regrets the suspension of Syrian peace talks, expressing hope that the negotiations could continue.

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the Kremlin hoped that it would "soon" become clear when and how the talks would resume.

"One can express regret in this regard but no one expected that everything will be simple and quick," he said.

"Of course it is obvious that moving forward will be difficult and we are hoping that the break will be followed by another round of these truly difficult talks," Peskov added.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday the suspension of peace talks to end Syria's war.

The Syrian government delegation blamed the opposition for the "failure" of the Geneva peace talks, accusing it of pulling out because it was losing the fight on the ground.

On Wednesday, the Syrian army advanced against militants north of Aleppo, choking their supply lines from Turkey to the city.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday peace talks were pointless while Syrian forces and Russia continued their attacks in the country.

The US and France also accused the Syrian government of undermining talks to end the war, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying Moscow and Damascus sought a military solution to the conflict.

China, however, called upon representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to show sincerity during the course of peace talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said all parties should work hard and maintain the momentum for the talks, he noted.

“We really hope that all parties involved in the peace talks can proactively take confidence-building measures, show sincerity, meet each other halfway and cooperate with the mediation efforts of the UN special envoy,” he said.

Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kerry had agreed during a telephone conversation that the pause in inter-Syrian talks must be "as short as possible."

In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Kerry "agreed to take necessary steps so that such a break will be as short as possible."

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