Negotiations in Geneva 'Only Way' to End War in Syria - Kerry

Sputnik News

23:55 15.12.2016

The Syrian conflict can be resolved only through serious negotiations of all parties in Geneva, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Syrian conflict can be resolved only through serious negotiations of all parties in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a press conference on Thursday.

"Everyone has reconfirmed to me their readiness to go to Geneva for discussions on putting an end to this horrific war. That's the only way that anybody with common sense or any strategic vision says you can end this war," Kerry stated. "Negotiations haven't taken place in all these years, any real negotiations."

Kerry added that Syrian President Bashar Assad has not yet expressed willingness to hold talks on how to rebuild and reunite the country.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting Syrian opposition groups striving to overthrow the president. Damascus is also fighting numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as the Jabhat Fatah al Sham and the Islamic State, both outlawed in Russia.

Over the recent months, Aleppo became a major battleground in Syria with the government troops seeking to liberate the city divided into the western part held by the government and the eastern part controlled by the militants.

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