A ferocious government ground offensive in the last few weeks, with hundreds of reported civilian deaths, has retaken all but about a quarter of the territory the opposition once held in the city. In comments published Thursday in the state-owned al-Watan newspaper, Assad said he would no longer consider truce offers, adding that such proposals, particularly by the Americans, often come when the rebels are in a “difficult spot.”

He said that while a victory by Syrian government forces in the battle for Aleppo would be a “big gain,” it will not end the country’s civil war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Germany after talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said military experts and diplomats would meet Saturday in Geneva to work out details of the rebels’ exit from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods, along with civilians who were willing to leave the city. Since it began in March 2011, the war in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people, made more than half of Syrians homeless, and created the world's worst refugee crisis.
Russia and the United States will continue talks on Aleppo after talks between the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.