France, Britain call for end to ‘disastrous’ Aleppo siege

French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault, right, and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson address the media during their joint press conference at the ministry of foreign affairs in Paris, France, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his British counterpart Boris Johnson called Thursday for the Syrian regime and its allies to end their “disastrous” siege on the city of Aleppo.
“The ministers solemnly called upon the Syrian regime’s allies to bring an immediate end to these operations which violate the truce agreed in Munich, and international law,” they said in a joint statement after a meeting in Paris.
“They called for the agreement on cessation of hostilities to be fully and immediately restored, and for progress toward the establishment of a transitional authority with full executive powers.”
The ministers said the siege of the city where some 300,000 people are trapped “makes it impossible for peace negotiations to resume.”
The ministers stressed that Russia in particular has a unique ability to persuade the Assad regime to end the war and return to the negotiating table.