Damascus vows to recapture Aleppo from rebels

In an interview in her Damascus office, Bouthaina Shaaban held out little hope for diplomatic efforts to end the five-year civil war, telling Reuters proposals for a ceasefire were coming from states that "do not want an end to terrorism" and wanted to shore up insurgents who are losing ground.

The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes and Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, has launched a major advance in recent weeks near Aleppo, once Syria's biggest city, now divided between rebel- and government-held sectors.

The offensive, one of the biggest shifts in momentum of the five year civil war, has brought government forces closer than they have been in years to a border crossing with Turkey that has served as the main supply route into rebel-held territory.

There would be no letup in an army advance, which aimed "to liberate cities and villages that were controlled by the terrorists for 3-1/2 years, and also an attempt to liberate the city of Aleppo from the crimes of terrorism", Shaaban said.

Damascus intended "to control our borders with Turkey, because Turkey is the main source of terrorists, and the main crossing for them".

The United Nations said on February 9 it was worried about the fate of up to 300,000 people still living in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, who could be cut off from food supplies if the government advance succeeds in surrounding the city and blocking access from Turkey.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the area, and Turkey, which has already taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees, has so far mostly kept the border closed to them, despite UN calls to allow them to flee.

Shabaan said Turkey was using the refugee crisis to blackmail European states, criticizing Ankara and its "Ottoman ambitions" as the prime cause of the war that has driven 11 million people from their homes and killed 250,000 people.

The Syrian army and its allies have gained ground in recent weeks in the provinces of Latakia and Aleppo, which border Turkey to the north, and Deraa, which borders Jordan to the south. They have also advanced against Islamic State to the east of Aleppo.

The advance helped derail the first peace talks in two years, which collapsed last week before they had begun in earnest, with rebels demanding a halt to bombardment - something the Syrian government criticized as pre-conditions for talks. International powers are expected to meet later this week to revive diplomacy, with Washington seeking a truce.