Lavrov: Russia won't stop Syria strikes until 'terrorists' defeated

Russia will not stop its air strikes on Syria until armed groups, such as al-Qaeda's wing there, are defeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Feb. 3. 

On Feb. 2, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Russia should stop bombing opposition forces in Syria now that U.N.-led peace talks have started. 

"Russian strikes will not cease until we really defeat terrorist organizations like Jabhat al-Nusra. And I don't see why these air strikes should be stopped," he said at a news conference in Oman's capital Muscat. 

Ceasefire hard without sealing Turkey-Syria border

Lavrov also said it would be difficult to impose a ceasefire unless Syria's border with Turkey was secured to prevent smuggling and the movement of fighters. 

"Regarding a ceasefire, we have pragmatic ideas and we talked with the Americans who head the Syria support group and we look forward to discussing these ideas at the meeting on February 11," Lavrov said, referring to the International Syria Support Group that is due to meet in Munich on Feb. 11.  

Lavrov's comments came at a time when the Syria peace talks in Geneva have become troubled as the Syrian government denied formal talks had begun and the opposition cancelled a second meeting with the U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura following intense Russian air strikes.

The main opposition umbrella group attending the biggest effort yet to end the war called Russia's bombardment near Aleppo - with 270 raids since the morning of Feb. 1, according to monitors - "unprecedented."

"Since last night a big massacre is taking place in Syria and nobody is doing anything. Nobody is saying anything, the international community is completely blind," said Salem al-Meslet from...