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UPDATE 1900 GMT: In a shift of position, Iran has said that it will attend Saturday’s Lausanne meeting of members of the International Syrian Support Group.

After the US and Russia announced the meeting on Wednesday, Iranian media initially reported that Tehran would not send Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the session.

However, the regime has now said that Zarif will go to Switzerland.

The announcement followed a phone call between Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

UPDATE 0645 GMT: The European Union may join others in denouncing possible “war crimes” by Russia and the Assad regime in the attacks on Aleppo.

Foreign Ministers have drafted a statement declaring, “Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, the intensity and scale of aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate.” They said the mass killing of civilians “may amount to war crimes.”

French leaders, including President Francois Hollande, have led the declaration of war crimes, prompting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to cancel a trip to Paris this month.

The French, US, and British Ambassadors to the UN criticized Russian “barbarism” and compared the attacks to the German destruction of the Spanish city of Guernica in 1937. Moscow vetoed a Security Council resolution mandating a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and suspension of military overflights.

Another 24 people were killed in the attacks on opposition-held Aleppo yesterday. Most died in the al-Firdous neighborhood, which has been under intense bombing since Tuesday.

See Syria Daily, Oct 13: Russia to Talk with US…and Continue Killing Civilians in Aleppo

ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Assad has ruled out any political settlement before the Syrian military and its foreign allies reclaim all of Syria’s largest city Aleppo.

In an interview with Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Assad ignored the bombing and besieging of about 275,000 civilians and said:

You have to keep cleaning this area and to push the terrorists to Turkey, to go back to where they come from or to kill them. There’s no other option.

Aleppo is going to be a very important springboard to do this move.

Foreign powers, including the US and Russia, are renewing talks in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday. The focus will be on Aleppo, where Russian and regime airstrikes have killed about 600 civilians in the past three weeks, with calls for a new ceasefire and assurance of humanitarian aid.

Washington had said it was suspending contacts with Moscow after the escalation of bombing and Russia’s refusal to halt the attacks. US officials emphasized on Wednesday that the discussions in Lausanne are multilateral rather than bilateral.

However, Assad played down any US-Russian push for a political resolution:

What we’ve been seeing recently during the last few weeks, and maybe few months, is something like more than Cold War. I don’t know what to call it, but it’s not something that has existed recently, because I don’t think that the West and especially the United States has stopped their Cold War, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Assad also denounced Turkey, despite the attempts of Russia and Iran to distance Ankara from support of the Syrian opposition and rebels. He said Turkish actions in Syria, including a military intervention alongside rebels in northern Syria from late August, constituted an “invasion against international law, against the morals, against the sovereignty of Syria”.

Rebel Faction: We Killed 6 Russian Officers in Hama Province

The rebel faction Faylaq al-Sham claims that it killed six Russian officers after infiltrating pro-Assad forces in northern Hama Province.

The rebels also say they caused Iranian and Syrian casualties in an operation which had been prepared for three months, well before the launch of the current rebel offensive in the province.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied the claim.

Syrian Military: We Recaptured Fortified Village of Ma’an in Northern Hama

The Syrian military is claiming the recapture of the fortified village of Ma’an in northern Hama Province, continuing a fightback against a rebel offensive that has taken a series of towns and villages since late August.

A “military source” said control was re-established on Thursday.

Rebels took Ma’an in late September in the second wave of their advance on a 35-km (22-mile) front across northern Hama, closing within 10 km (6 miles) of Hama city.

However, the rebel offensive was then crippled by in-fighting, notably between the jihadists of Jund al-Aqsa and the leading rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham. Enabled by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian military and foreign allies have taken advantage by moving back into several villages.

Syrian State TV coverage:

Putin Signs Law for Indefinite Russian Stay at Syrian Airbase

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a federal law confirming Russia’s indefinitely deployment of forces at an airbase in western Syria.

The law was passed the Duma last Friday and approved by the Federation Council on Wednesday.

Russia began its aerial intervention from the Hmeimim airbase in September 2015. Thousands of airstrikes have been carried out, the large majority on opposition territory.

US Considers Military Options, But Obama Likely to Veto

President Obama and the National Security Council will consider proposals, including limited military action, on Friday.

US officials leaked to the media in late September that plans were being developed after the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire, brokered by the US and Russia, and the renewed Russian-regime attacks on Aleppo.

Options includes arms supplies to rebels and targeted strikes on regime positions.

However, senior Administration officials said Obama is likely to object to the proposals. They stressed that he may not make any decisions at the meeting.

2 Towns Near Damascus Surrender

Two towns in the corridor northwest of Damascus have finally surrendered to the Syrian military.

More than 600 rebels and their families left Qudsaya and al-Hameh on Thursday.

The area has been relatively quiet because of local truces, but a siege was imposed in July and regime forces stepped up bombing and attacks in late September, trying to overrun the towns and destroying the only local hospitals.

An ultimatum was issued for the departure of fighters to avoid an all-out assault. Meanwhile, 10 people were killed and dozens wounded.

“They gave us little option: Leave or all hell breaks loose,” said Yousef al Hasnawi, a resident on the local council.

Qudsaya and al-Hameh are along the Damascus-to-Beirut highway, about 10 km (6 miles) northwest of the capital. The regime was especially sensitive to the rebel presence because of a nearby base of the Republican Guards.

A negotiator said a total of 2,500 residents, including 525 rebels from Qudsaya and 114 from al-Hameh, will leave for Idlib Province in northwest Syria in coming days.

However, men wanted for compulsory military service will have to remain. They have six months to present themselves to conscription offices.

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