Syria crisis: US and Russia in talks to fight side by side in Aleppo, says Russian defence minister

The US and Russia have backed opposing sides in country’s civil war, but are reportedly considering teaming up and working together

Children were given emergency treatment after a suspected gas attack in Aleppo last week (Mahmoud Rashwani)

Russia and the United States are in talks for their troops to take joint military action against militants in Syria for the first time, according to Moscow’s defence minister.

Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying the two countries are close to fighting together.

The comments suggest a remarkable turnaround in strategy between two countries backing different sides in Syria’s complex civil war.

Meanwhile, fighting for control of Aleppo has intensified in recent weeks and rebel groups have made gains against government forces.

“We are now in a very active phase of negotiations with our American colleagues,” the RIA news agency quoted Mr Shoigu as saying.

“We are moving step by step closer to a plan – and I'm only talking about Aleppo here – that would really allow us to start fighting together to bring peace so that people can return to their homes in this troubled land.”

Russia is backing the embattled government of Bashar al-Assad while the US has called repeatedly for him to step down from power.

Mr Shoigu added that about 700,000 people were still living in Aleppo and that those living in the eastern part of the city were “hostages of armed groups”.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and commercial capital, has become the focal point of the civil war and is the only major city where the opposition to the government still has a foothold.

At the weekend, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 327 civilians, including 126 children, had been killed in fighting there in recent days.

Earlier on Monday, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said Syrian militants had used a temporary ceasefire around the city to regroup.