US, Russia Discussing 10-Day Humanitarian Pause in Syria Fighting - Steinmeier

Russia and the United States are discussing the implementation of a seven-to-10-day-long ceasefire in Syria, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — At a conference at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Berlin, Steinmeier said:

"The most important thing for now is a humanitarian pause for Aleppo, and it would be preferable to make it last for 48 hours. Talks are currently being held on implementing a ceasefire for between seven and 10 days."

The discussions are taking place at the ongoing meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who are discussing the settlement of the Syrian conflict, according to the minister.

Lavrov and Kerry met earlier in the day in Geneva. A day before, Lavrov also met with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, discussing humanitarian access to the besieged areas of Syria as well as the United Nations' role in a possible US-Russian deal on Syrian political settlement.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. On February 27, a US-Russia brokered ceasefire came into force in Syria. Terrorist groups such as Daesh, as well as Jabhat Fatah al Sham (previously known as al-Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russia and a range of other states, are not part of the deal.