Syria says it rejects Aleppo ceasefire if rebels remain - state media

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Moscow said on Monday that Russian and U.S. officials would meet this week to discuss a possible rebel withdrawal from Aleppo. A U.S. official told Reuters that Washington would embrace that as a step to save lives.

The Syrian government describes all the rebel groups fighting to bring down President Bashar al-Assad as terrorists.

"The insurgents include groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist militants.Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday for a week-long ceasefire, with Moscow arguing that rebels used such pauses in the fighting to reinforce, causing more fighting and harm to civilians"The insurgents include groups backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, as well as jihadist militants.

Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Monday for a week-long ceasefire, with Moscow arguing that rebels used such pauses in the fighting to reinforce, causing more fighting and harm to civilians.

Russia, Assad's most powerful foreign supporter, has conducted a campaign of air strikes against the rebels since September 2015, including in Aleppo.

It says it is targeting the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, a former al Qaeda affiliate previously known as the Nusra Front, in the city. Rebels based in Aleppo say that Fateh al-Sham is not present there in significant numbers.

(Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

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