Germany's foreign minister says humanitarian aid is desperately needed in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo and that it may be necessary to start an "air bridge" to bring it in.
Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on August 13 that Germany was in talks with the United States, Russia and the United Nations to try and organize "urgent humanitarian assistance" to the northern Syrian city.
Despite calls for a cease-fire and Russia's promise of a three-hour daily respite from air strikes to allow in humanitarian aid, there has been no letup in the violence.
Steinmeier is due to discuss the Syrian crisis with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on August 15.
The meeting follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Russia this week where he discussed the Syrian conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their first meeting following a diplomatic rift after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in November.