No Joint Implementation Center in Syria if Aid Access Not Granted By Monday

There will be no US-Russian Joint Implementation Center (JIC) in Syria if the United States does not see humanitarian access provided by Monday, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Humanitarian access, along with seven days of reduced violence, is a condition of the Syria ceasefire agreement announced last week by Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

If the conditions are upheld, Russia and the United States will work together to establish a Joint Implementation Center and carry out joint airstrikes against terrorist groups in the war-torn country, according to the deal.

"If, by Monday we have continued to see reduced violence and no humanitarian access there will be no Joint Implementation Center," Kirby told reporters on Friday.

Kirby noted that Secretary of State John Kerry had discussed aid delivery with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

"We know that there are trucks that are waiting to go in, and the UN is supervising that process," Kirby said.

Earlier on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Syrian government forces are ready to withdraw from Castello Road in Aleppo simultaneously with opposition groups to facilitate the delivery of aid.