UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday canceled an urgent meeting that had been called to discuss a US-Russian deal on Syria, at the request of both the United States and Russia, diplomats said.

During the scheduled meeting, US and Russian envoys were to present details of the joint agreement that calls for a ceasefire, the delivery of aid in Syria.

Russia, Syria’s key ally, is pushing for the Security Council to endorse the agreement, but France and other council members have said they must first learn more details about the deal.

Under the deal, all sides were due to allow deliveries of food and other basic supplies to the battleground city of Aleppo after a ceasefire went into effect on Monday. </s> The UN Security Council on Friday canceled an urgent meeting that had been called to discuss a US-Russian deal on Syria, at the request of both the United States and Russia, diplomats said.

During the scheduled meeting, US and Russian envoys were to present details of the joint agreement that calls for a ceasefire, the delivery of aid and joint targeting of Islamist rebels in Syria.

Russia, Syria's key ally, is pushing for the Security Council to endorse the agreement, but France and other council members have said they must first learn more details about the deal.

Under the deal, all sides were due to allow deliveries of food and other basic supplies to the battleground city of Aleppo after a ceasefire went into effect on Monday.

But on Friday, aid convoys positioned at the border with Turkey had yet to receive the all-clear to begin their journey to Aleppo.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Thursday that the council could adopt a resolution backing the agreement during a high-level meeting on Syria to be held on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are due to attend the council talks, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. </s> United Nations Security Council will convene Monday upon France's call for an emergency meeting over Syria following the launch of Turkey's anti-terror operation in northern Syria's Afrin province.

"Ghouta, Idlib, Afrin — France asks for an urgent meeting of the Security Council," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on his Twitter feed. He added that he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday morning.

The foreign ministry said Monday that the U.N. meeting on Syria initiated by France under the framework of "Any other business (AOB)" will address latest developments in the country, according to a message sent by French officials to representatives of U.N. member states.

"I would like to inform you that we will also use tomorrow's AOB on Syria to focus on the humanitarian situation in the country and to address more generally the latest developments of the situation in the field," the message said.

Turkish ground forces pushed into northern Syria's Afrin province as part of Operation Olive Branch on Sunday after Turkey launched artillery and air strikes on terrorist PKK's Syrian affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing People's Protection Units (YPG), it aims to sweep from its border.

On Saturday, envoys and mission chiefs of permanent members of U.N. Security Council — United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China —were invited to the Turkish foreign ministry for a briefing on Operation Olive Branch. </s> U.N. Security Council to meet on U.S.-led air strikes in Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will meet on Saturday at the request of Russia, diplomats said, to discuss air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, which Moscow said had targeted and killed Syrian military personnel.

The 15-member body is due to meet behind closed doors at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT), diplomats said.

Russia and a war monitoring group said coalition jets bombed a Syrian army position near Deir al-Zor airport on Saturday, killing dozens of Syrian soldiers.

In a statement carried on Syria's state-owned media, Syria's foreign ministry called for the Security Council to condemn what it described as U.S. aggression and require Washington to respect Syrian sovereignty.

Such a move is unlikely as statements by the council have to be agreed by consensus. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao) </s> The United Nations Security Council on Saturday rejected a Russian-drafted resolution urging a ceasefire in Aleppo after Moscow vetoed a rival measure calling for an end to the bombing of the Syrian city.

The measure was defeated by a vote of nine against, including Britain, France and the United States, four in favor and two abstentions in the 15-member council. </s> France is to launch a new push for United Nations backing for a ceasefire in Syria that would allow aid into the city of Aleppo after some of the heaviest bombing of the war.

As diplomatic efforts resumed, a Syrian military source said army commanders had decided to scale back air strikes and shelling in Aleppo to alleviate the humanitarian situation there.

The Syrian army command said civilians in rebel-held eastern Aleppo were being used as human shields and a reduced level of bombardment would allow people to leave for safer areas.

France said Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault would travel to Russia and the United States on Thursday and Friday to try to persuade both sides to adopt a Security Council resolution to impose a new truce.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, architects of a ceasefire that collapsed last month amid bitter recriminations, discussed Syria by telephone on Wednesday, but no details emerged.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Lavrov would meet Ayrault in Moscow on Thursday.

The French minister’s trip comes after the collapse of a ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia last month, which has been followed by intense Syrian and Russian bombing of rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Washington broke off talks with Moscow on Monday, accusing Russia of breaking its commitments.

For the past two weeks, a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive has been under way to capture eastern Aleppo and crush the last urban stronghold of a revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that began in 2011.

“This trip is in the framework of efforts by France to get a resolution adopted at the U.N. Security Council opening the path for a ceasefire in Aleppo and aid access for populations that need it so much,” the French foreign ministry said.

The Security Council began negotiations on Monday on a French and Spanish draft resolution that urges Russia and the United States to ensure an immediate truce in Aleppo and to “put an end to all military flights over the city”.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Monday that Moscow was engaged in discussions on the draft text even if he was not especially enthusiastic about its language.

The draft text, seen by Reuters, urges Russia and the United States “to ensure the immediate implementation of the cessation of hostilities, starting with Aleppo, and, to that effect, to put an end to all military flights over the city.”

The draft also asks U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to propose options for U.N.-supervised monitoring of a truce and threatens to “take further measures” in the event of non-compliance by “any party to the Syrian domestic conflict”.

A French diplomatic source said: “It’s all that’s left. We’re not fools. The Russians aren’t going to begin respecting human rights from one day to the next, but it’s all we have to put pressure on them.”

The collapse of the latest Syria ceasefire has heightened the possibility that Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar – backers of Syrian rebels – might arm the opposition with shoulder-fired missiles to defend themselves against Syrian and Russian warplanes, U.S. officials have said.

Qatar’s foreign minister said outside powers need to act fast to protect Syrians because foreign military backing for the government is “changing the equation” of the war.

In Aleppo itself, half of the estimated 275,000 Syrians besieged in the rebel-held eastern part of the city want to leave, the United Nations said.

Food supplies are running short and people are driven to burning plastic for fuel. Mothers were reportedly tying ropes around their stomachs or drinking large amounts of water to reduce the feeling of hunger and prioritise food for their children, the United Nations said.

“An assessment conducted in eastern Aleppo city concluded that 50 per cent of the inhabitants expressed willingness to leave if they can,” the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in Geneva.

A United Nations expert said that analysis of satellite imagery of a deadly and disputed attack on an aid convoy in Syria last month showed that it was an air strike.

Some 20 people were killed in the attack on the U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy at Urem Al-Kubra near Aleppo.

The United States blamed two Russian warplanes which it said were in the skies above the area at the time of the incident. Moscow denies this and says the convoy caught fire.

“With our analysis we determined it was an air strike and I think multiple other sources have said that as well,” Lars Bromley, research adviser at UNOSAT, told a news briefing.

In northern Syria, rebels were expecting stiff resistance from Islamic State in their attempt to capture a village that is of great symbolic significance to the jihadists, a rebel commander said.

With Turkish backing, rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner have advanced to within a few kilometres (miles) of Dabiq, the site of an apocalyptic prophecy central to the militant group’s ideology. </s> French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will hold talks about the situation in Syria on Monday, French Foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on his Twitter feed on Sunday.

He added that France would press for humanitarian access.

Le Drian said earlier on Sunday that France had called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council over Syria following a Turkish incursion into northern Syria’s Afrin province.

He also condemned indiscriminate bombing by the Syrian regime in Idlib province and asked for immediate access for humanitarian aid to eastern Ghouta, where 400,000 citizens face a critical situation. </s> U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2ndL) and France's Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault (2ndR) attend a meeting on Syria, in Paris, France, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Thibault Camus/Pool

PARIS (Reuters) - Backers of the Syrian opposition appeared resigned to the fall of eastern Aleppo on Saturday, with the United States urging Russia to show "grace" when officials meet in Geneva to try to reach a deal for civilians and fighters to leave the city.

Syrian government and allied forces have in the last two weeks driven rebels from most of their territory in what was once Syria's most populous city.

The rebels have controlled the eastern section since 2012, and President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Thursday that retaking Aleppo would change the course of the civil war across the whole country.

Critics of the operation have warned that thousands of civilians risk being caught in the crossfire and have repeatedly called on Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power to accept a ceasefire to allow civilians and rebel fighters to leave to safer areas.

Speaking in Paris after a meeting of countries that oppose Assad, including France, Britain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry showed little optimism for U.S. and Russian talks in Geneva later on Saturday.

"Our teams are meeting in Geneva today in order to flesh out details of a possible way of trying to save lives. Russia and Assad have a moment where they are in a dominant position to show a little grace," Kerry told reporters.

"I believe there could be a way forward but it depends on big, magnanimous choices from Russia ... and insistence of Russia on the Assad regime," he said.

Moscow and Washington have discussed a ceasefire to let civilians escape eastern Aleppo and aid enter. Russia also wants the United States to urge rebel fighters to abandon their territory and accept transport out.

"Fighters ... don't trust that if they agreed to leave to try to save Aleppo that it will save Aleppo and they will be unharmed and free to move where they are not immediately attacked," Kerry said, adding that Geneva talks had to set some guarantees for rebels.

The meeting in Paris, also attended by Riad Hijab, the main opposition coordinator, underscored the powerlessness of Syrian opposition supporters, as well as some divisions between them.

Beyond the issue of humanitarian access, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Moscow and Damascus needed to realize that the fall of Aleppo would not end the war and that negotiations based on U.N. Security Council resolutions agreed in Dec. 2015 should be revived to find a political solution.

More than five years of war in Syria have killed more than 300,000 people and made more than half of Syrians homeless.

"What peace do they want? The peace of cemeteries?," Ayrault said. "Negotiations must start again... The opposition is ready to negotiate without preconditions." </s> U.N. Security Council likely to meet on U.S.-led Syria strikes -diplomats

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council is likely to meet on Saturday at the request of Russia, diplomats said, to discuss air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, which Moscow said had targeted and killed Syrian military personnel.

Russia and a war monitoring group said coalition jets bombed a Syrian army position near Deir al-Zor airport on Saturday, killing dozens of Syrian soldiers. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao)
The United States, United Kingdom, and France seek a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the declining security situation in Aleppo.