U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed support for U.N. efforts to halt the fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as well as for Russia's bid to restart peace talks for the war-torn nation.
Kerry spoke Wednesday alongside the U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura after the two met in Geneva.
The secretary said de Mistura's plan to freeze fighting in Aleppo through a series of locally negotiated truces to allow in humanitarian aid is part of a "very complicated but very important effort" to make progress in Syria.
De Mistura is due to return to Damascus next week. He met in November with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who called the proposal something "worth studying."
The U.N. envoy said Wednesday that Aleppo is an "iconic example" of how the violence could end and bring hope to Syrians who are tired of nearly four years of conflict.