US Secretary of State John Kerry says officials from the United States and Russia are set to discuss alleged violations of a ceasefire in Syria, confirming that peace talks scheduled for next week remain on course.
“Our teams are meeting today (Saturday) with Russia in both Geneva and Amman, where very detailed lay downs will take place regarding these allegations,” Kerry said at the end of a visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
He said that he requested for a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday to discuss alleged violations of the ceasefire that went into force on February 27.
He claimed that the level of violence “by all accounts has been reduced by 80 to 90 percent” after the ceasefire and that “perceived” violations of the truce should not get in the way of peace talks.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a total of 135 people were killed in the first week of the…