Ceasefire, International Observers Needed in Syria's Aleppo - Obama

An impartial international observer mission in Syria’s city of Aleppo is needed to ensure safe evacuation as well as a broader cessation of hostilities to achieve a political solution to the country’s crisis, outgoing US President Barack Obama stated during the press conference on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "There needs to be an impartial international observer force in Aleppo that can help coordinate an orderly evacuation through safe corridors. There needs to be full access for humanitarian aid," Obama said.

Moreover, Obama also said there is a need for a "broader ceasefire that can serve us a basis for a political rather than a military solution."

"That’s what the United States is going to continue to push for booth with our partners and through multilateral institutions like the UN," Obama concluded.

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

On Wednesday, the Russian reconciliation center said that only about 1 square mile of the city's territory was still under the militants’ control.