Putin Needs 'Phone Call' to End War in Syria, UK's Hammond Says

It is Russian President Vladimir Putin who can bring the civil war in Syria to an end, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

It will depend on "whether the Russians are prepared to use their influence" to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Independent quotes him as saying on The Andrew Marr Show.

"There's one man on this planet who can end the civil war in Syria by making a phone call, and that's Mr Putin," Hammond has added.

He has warned of the harm Russian airstrikes in Syria has been causing to the activities of the moderate opposition by pushing some opposition forces back from the positions they previously controlled.

The UK's Foreign Secretary has welcomed the ceasefire plan, adopted during the Munich Security Conference earlier this week, calling it "an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria," adding it should go hand it hand with a change of behaviour by the Syrian regima and its supporters.

Separately, TASS news agency reports thatPutin and US President Barack Obama have discussed the Syria crisis over the phone, also touching the issue of Ukraine.

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