Russia offered an eight hour “humanitarian pause” in besieged eastern Aleppo as European Union foreign ministers issued a sharp statement accusing the Russian government of perpetrating likely war crimes in the Syrian city. The timing of the offered eight-hour ceasefire coincides with a meeting of EU heads of state to discuss whether to step up sanctions against the Syrian regime. The ceasefire, the Russians said, is to give a chance for opposition fighters and the seriously injured to leave the city by two designated routes. Ministers signalled their readiness to widen asset-freezes and travel bans on Syrian officials responsible for the bombing but did not propose sanctions against Russia. While ministers agreed easily on the decision to target Syrians implicated in the bombing of Aleppo, they were divided over whether to criticise Russia.

Source: The Guardian October 17, 2016 18:05 UTC