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France, Britain urge end to siege of Aleppo in Syria

PARIS, July 28 (KUNA) -- French and British Foreign Ministers meeting Thursday called for an immediate end to the siege of Aleppo in Syria, a siege that is threatening the safety of some 300,00 civilians in the area.
Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault received new British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for intensive talks on a variety of bilateral, European and international issues, and Syria received special focus in the talks, diplomats said.
In a joint statement after their meeting, the Foreign Ministers said they "condemned with the greatest firmness the continuation of the siege of Aleppo by the Syrian regime forces and their allies." The ministers also warned of the consequences of the ongoing bombardments of Aleppo by the Syrian military, which includes attacks "on civilians, medical installations, which are already disastrous, and risk provoking the departure of fresh refugees." The joint statement "solemnly called" on Damascus to implement and immediate ceasefire as current operations by the Syrian regime "violate the agreed treaty in Munich and international humanitarian law." Ayrault and Johnson reiterated their governments' regular call for a lasting cease-fire and progress towards setting up a transition authority in Syria.
The UN-supported deadline for this authority to be in place is August 1 but that seems implausible at this stage in the conflict and the ongoing clashes between the varying parties.
France and Britain also singled out terror groups for special attention in the statement and urged more should be done to combat these groups in Syria.
"The minister insisted on the need to increase the efforts made to fight against terrorist groups in Syria, whether it be Daesh (so-called Islamic State) or Jabhad Al-Nusra (an Al-Qaeda affiliate).
Ayrault and Johnson pointed out that "there will be no lasting political solution, nor a return to stability in Syria, as long as Syrian civilians are being massacred." (end) jk.nfm