Russia - talks taking place on including Aleppo in Syria's 'regime of calm' -agencies

A Red Crescent aid worker inspects scattered medical supplies after an airstrike on a medical depot in the rebel-held Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday talks were taking place to include Aleppo in a temporary lull in fighting declared by the Syrian army in some western parts of the country, a sign of intensified efforts to halt a surge of violence in Syria's former commercial capital.

The United States said stopping the bloodshed in Aleppo, which has been at the centre of an escalation of violence that has all but destroyed a wider ceasefire deal and broke up peace talks in Geneva, was a top priority.