U.N. hopes for Aleppo truce, U.S.-Russia talks go on

By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks between senior Russian and American officials aiming for a broad ceasefire in Syria are likely to last into the weekend, as the conflict only intensifies further, the United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday. In a separate negotiation, there was still hope of agreeing a regular 48-hour truce in the divided northern city of Aleppo to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations, his humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said. The two negotiations reflect a desperate diplomatic effort to bring some peace amid an escalation of the five-year conflict, both in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, as Russian, Turkish, Iranian, Saudi and U.S.-backed forces turn up the heat.

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