Syrian Opposition in Talks With Russia on Cessation of Hostilities in Aleppo

Leaders of the Syrian opposition are in Turkey-mediated talks with Russia on cessation of hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo, media reported Thursday, citing a source in the opposition.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Representatives of the Syrian opposition forces said that the talks with Moscow concerning the end of fighting in the besieged Aleppo were held in Ankara and did not involve the United States, the Financial Times newspaper reported.

"The Russians and Turks are talking without the US now. It [Washington] is completely shut out of these talks, and doesn’t even know what’s going on in Ankara," a source in the opposition said, as quoted by the newspaper.

Aleppo council leader Ali Sheikh Omar said that politicians in the rebel-held districts agreed to appoint the teams for negotiations directly with Moscow, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile, one of the opposition representatives reportedly denied the negotiations, while some other rebels refused to comment on the potential talks.

The situation in Aleppo has been seriously deteriorating over the recent months. Thousands of civilians are trapped in the terrorist-besieged eastern parts of Aleppo with no access to food or water.

Syria's civil war between government forces and a wide range of insurgents, including opposition groups and terrorists, such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (also known as al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat al-Nusra), both outlawed in Russia, has raged for some five years and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.