Sergey Lavrov: Bashar al-Assad is not a close ally of Russia

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, stated that Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is not considered a close ally of Russia to the extent that Turkey is a close ally of the United States. In an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency published on Wednesday, May 4, he added: "Bashar al-Assad is not our ally. We support him in the fight against terrorism and to maintain the integrity of Syria. However, he is not considered an ally of Russia to the extent that Turkey is a close ally of the United States." He expressed that Russia believes that peace talks on Syria will resume this month in Geneva, but due to the "obsessions" of the High Negotiations Committee, the opposition forces and other countries, including Turkey, the conditions for direct talks have not yet been established. The Russian Foreign Minister also mentioned that a meeting of the member countries of the International Syria Support Group may take place in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported, citing a United Nations official, that the escalation of battles, especially in the Aleppo region, has put residents of other areas under severe pressure and humanitarian aid organizations have been unable to access these areas. Jan Egeland, the humanitarian aid coordinator for Syria, said on Wednesday in Geneva that new areas may have come under siege and hundreds of aid workers cannot operate in the city of Aleppo. He also emphasized that aid groups have made significant progress in accessing besieged areas identified in the February meeting in Munich. Egeland added that the most important issue is to end armed conflicts. He stressed that "the actions of the United States and Russia are very important, but we do not need to issue statements; we want the war to end." On Wednesday, the Syrian state news agency reported that three people were killed due to shelling of government-controlled areas in the city of Aleppo by rebels. Syrian state television also reported that on Wednesday, government forces repelled a rebel attack on the outskirts of Aleppo. Sources close to the rebels confirmed this report and added that government forces had retaken a shopping center, which is the new front line of battle in the west of Aleppo. Aleppo, the former commercial center and the largest city in Syria, has been the focal point of heavy battles over the past two weeks, effectively breaking the limited ceasefire that was established since late February. Diplomatic efforts to end these battles, which have left about 300 casualties since April 22, are ongoing. In this context, the White House spokesperson stated that the establishment of "safe zones" in Syria is impractical. Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo. A rebel attack on a hospital in Aleppo left "19 dead." John Kerry warned Bashar al-Assad about the consequences of not adhering to the ceasefire.