Situation in Syria Requires Urgent Ceasefire- French Foreign Ministry

There is an urgent need to put an end to the bombing in Syria and improve the humanitarian situation to ease the suffering of the Syrian people, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, Roman Nadal, told Sputnik Thursday.

PARIS (Sputnik) —  Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Russia was prepared to discuss the issue of a possible ceasefire in Syria.

"When the government of Syria, supported by the Russian air force, is blocking the city of Aleppo, it seems urgent to draw a line under [the strategy of] bombing and improve the humanitarian situation in order to ease the suffering of the Syrians and create a favorable climate for negotiations between the Syrians themselves," Nadal said, commenting on Gatilov's statement.

Nadal expressed hope that a ceasefire process would be achieved in accordance with the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

On September 30, 2015, Russia launched an aerial campaign against Islamic State and Nusra Front jihadists in Syria at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Both organizations are outlawed in Russia where they are considered terrorist groups.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2254, passed in December, reaffirms the goals of previous agreements to end the bombardment of civilians in Syria, bring the entire spectrum of political groups in the crisis-torn country to the negotiating table and promote a lasting political resolution of the crisis.