DHAKA: A US push for an immediate ceasefire in Syria has run into Russian opposition ahead of talks aimed at reviving peace negotiations on the conflict.

Russia proposed a 1 March ceasefire, but the US believes Moscow is giving itself and the Syrian regime three weeks to crush rebels, reports quoting Western officials said.

World powers are meeting in Munich later for talks on the Syria conflict, reports the BBC.

Discussions come amid fresh warnings of a worsening humanitarian situation.

A surge in fighting in Syria’s Aleppo province has displaced about 50,000 people, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned - adding that supply routes for aid had been cut, putting civilians under ‘enormous pressure’.

Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters, reportedly backed by Russian air strikes, have driven Islamist insurgents from a former Syrian military air base north of Aleppo, monitors said on Thursday.

Russian aircraft had carried out at least 30 raids against the remnants of the Islamist force and Kurdish militia had captured most of the Menagh base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Reports quoting the Russia defense ministry say Russian planes have carried out 510 military sorties in Syria in the last week.

Russia says its strikes target what it calls terrorists, but Western powers say they have been used against mainstream opposition groups fighting the Syrian government.

BDST: 1613 HRS, FEB 11, 2016
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