Kerry warns Syrian regime and allies against exploiting truce

The US Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Syrian regime and its allies on Sunday against exploiting the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

“If the regime and its backers think they can test boundaries, diminish their compliance in certain areas, or act in ways that call into question their commitment to the cessation – without serious consequences for the progress we have made – they are mistaken,” Kerry said after talks with his European allies in Paris.

Kerry made the statement after meeting with the new French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and Europe’s top diplomats to discuss major international issues including the Syria peace talks.

During the meeting with Ayrault, Kerry said that the Syrian government’s comments on peace talks were trying “to disrupt” the process.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on Saturday that the removal of Bashar Al-Assad remained a “red line” for the Syrian government.

The meeting comes ahead of UN-sponsored indirect peace talks on Syria, which are scheduled to start Monday in Geneva.