EU, Canada Call for Resumption of Syrian Truce, New Round of Peace Talks

The European Union and Canada called for an immediate resumption of ceasefire in Syria and urged to undertake further efforts on the Syrian crisis resolution, the joint declaration adopted on the sidelines of the 16th EU-Canada Summit said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The parties stressed that the cessation of hostilities should be "monitored and enforced by a strong mechanism."

"A renewed cessation of hostilities and efforts to find a political solution are urgent in order to allow all parties to reengage in the intra-Syrian talks to resume once the situation on the ground will allow it," the document said.

"On Syria, we strongly condemn the continued, widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict," the declaration said.

The European Union and Canada also called for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian missions to the Syrian people in Aleppo and elsewhere.

On October 20, a humanitarian pause was introduced in the embattled city of Aleppo to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo via eight designated corridors. During the humanitarian pause, al-Nusra Front terrorist group, recently renamed as Jabhat Fatah al Sham, prevented civilians from fleeing the city by threats, shellings and executions. As the evacuation failed and the humanitarian pause ended, the Syrian government launched an offensive against the militants.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes the humanitarian pause in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo needs to be extended.