John Kerry: ‘We will not stop trying for Syria peace deal’

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said efforts are being made “on a daily basis” to try and resolve the humanitarian “disaster” in Aleppo, Syria.

Mr Kerry said a peace deal in Syria is possible, provided Russia, Iran, and other interested countries are “willing to accept a reasonable approach” to the crisis.

Speaking in Ireland yesterday on a visit to accept the Tipperary International Peace Award, Mr Kerry also said he has not been officially requested by the FBI to hand over any emails following the latest controversy to hit the presidential election campaign of Hillary Clinton, his predecessor in his current office.

On Syria, Mr Kerry was asked about his hopes for a resolution to the conflict: “We are engaged even now, still, on a daily basis, with trying to find a way to address the humanitarian disaster in Aleppo and the war itself.

“Every day this war goes on, every hour it goes on, is an hour and a day too long. And so we are still engaged on a multi-lateral basis, including with Russia and Iran and other parties, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, to see if there is a way to try to reduce the violence and move towards the negotiating table.”

There have been “starts that have not produced an outcome” apart from a temporary result.

“I want to be very, very careful about making any kind of predictions,” said Mr Kerry. “Is it possible? Yes, it is possible, providing the Russians and the Iranians, and the regime itself are willing to accept a reasonable approach put on the table by all sides, by all the other parties, in the hopes of being able to move towards that political discussion.

“We are not going to stop, not for one day, without any shame whatsoever in saying that because the alternative is that, on a daily basis, civilians are bombed, kids are bombed, schools are bombed, hospitals are bombed, and we cannot just be sitting on our heels while that’s going on.

“We have a fundamental responsibility to try and push the process forward and my hope is that over the course of the next two, two and a half months, we might be able to find a way to actually get to the table and begin some kind of legitimate and long overdue conversation.”

Asked about the latest email controversy to hit Ms Clinton and if he or the State Department had been asked by the FBI to hand over any emails, Mr Kerry said: “No, I haven’t been notified of anything, no I haven’t been requested of anything, no I’m not aware of the department being requested.”

A huge Irish and American security operation surrounds yesterday's visit of John Kerry to the Glen of Aherlow.

It will be up to the US Department of Justice and the FBI to respond to further questions on this, he said.

“Obviously as an American citizen, not to mention as a former nominee of the party, there’s a lot I’d love to say about what has been going on, but I can’t and I’m just going to remain out of this, which is the appropriate place for the Secretary of State to be,” said Mr Kerry.