European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is convinced the fall of opposition-held areas of Aleppo to the regime would not end the war in Syria, she said on Saturday.
“I’m convinced the fall of Aleppo will not end the war,” Mogherini said during a panel discussion at a conference in Rome with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.
An official from the Syrian opposition said their commanders would not surrender eastern Aleppo to regime forces. 
“I asked the factions, they said ‘we will not surrender’,” said Zakaria Malahifji, the head of the political office of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim faction, speaking from Turkey.
“The military commanders in Aleppo said ‘we will not leave the city. There is no problem with corridors for civilians to leave, but we will not leave the city’,” he said. 
But with the opposition under fierce assault in their shrinking enclave, the UN envoy for Syria suggested eastern Aleppo could fall to the regime by the end of the year and hoped a “formula” could be found to avoid a “terrible battle.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran and Moscow would continue to cooperate in the Syrian war “until the ultimate goal of eradicating terrorism and restoring peace and full security to the region is achieved.”
The comment was delivered in a Saturday meeting in Tehran between Rouhani and Russia’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
Rouhani stressed that the Syrian situation can only be resolved through political dialogue and with full respect for the will of the Syrian people, who he said are the main decision makers on the future of the country, IRNA said.
Russia said it was ready for talks with the US about a withdrawal of all opposition fighters from eastern Aleppo. Russia said the withdrawal of all opposition fighters would “normalize life” in eastern Aleppo.
“We are immediately ready to send out military experts, diplomats to Geneva in order to agree mutual actions with our American colleagues to ensure the pullout of all the opposition fighters without exclusion from eastern Aleppo,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
There was no immediate comment from the US, which has backed some of the opposition groups. The opposition says it has been abandoned to its fate by foreign governments such as the US.
The fighting has prompted more than 50,000 people to leave east Aleppo for territory controlled by either the regime or Kurdish forces.
On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory said three people were killed and at least 10 others wounded in airstrikes on Shaar, and that raids were targeting several other neighborhoods in the city.

Source: Arab News