Russia, Red Cross call for daily temporary ceasefire in Syria
Syrians hold up the national flag as they line the street as the coffins of some 27 people who were killed in two bomb blasts the previous day leave the Othman mosque following their funeral service in Damascus on March 18, 2012.
Russia has joined the International Committee of the Red Cross in calling for a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.
The Associated Press reported Moscow said Syria's government and opposition rebels should stop fighting once a day to give the Red Cross access to the wounded and that jailed protesters should be allowed to have visitors.
The head of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, traveled to Moscow to discuss a ceasefire arrangement with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, wrote the BBC.
More from GlobalPost: Clashes erupt in Damascus
"We are supporting the need to start a political process, and to do that it's necessary to have a cease-fire first," Lavrov said. "Russia will do everything for that, irrespective of the decisions made by the Syrian government. We disagree with many of those, by the way," reported the AP.
Reuters reported Kellenberger said it was not clear what channels Russia would use to exert pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.
The announcement comes just hours after clashes erupted in Damascus and stalled efforts among the members of the UN Security Council to find common ground on a resolution.
The fighting was described by activists and residents as "the most intense" that area has seen during the year-long uprising.
Russia along with China has already twice vetoed UN council resolutions aimed at finding an end to the conflict in Syria.
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