Syria warns Turkey against providing 'unapproved' aid to Aleppo

The Syrian government warned that all aid going to the divided city of Aleppo - particularly from Turkey - must be coordinated with Damascus and the United Nations.

"Commenting on the statement issued by the Turkish regime on its intention to send what it says is humanitarian aid into Aleppo," Syria's foreign ministry said.

"The Syrian Arab Republic announces its rejection of the entry of any humanitarian aid to Aleppo, particularly from the Turkish regime, without coordination with the Syrian government and the United Nations."

The statement, carried by state media, came nearly a full day into a fragile truce brokered by Russia and the United States that calls for immediate and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Syria.

Over the weekend, Turkey said it was already making preparations to deliver humanitarian aid to Aleppo, where some 250,000 people in the rebel-held east are under regime siege.

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But a Syrian source close to the government said the US-Russian deal only allowed the United Nations to send aid into Aleppo.

The source said the sealed trucks would come from Turkey and would be opened inside Aleppo by the Syrian Red Crescent, which would distribute the aid.

Earlier on Tuesday, the UN said it was ready to help civilians but aid convoys would not enter until security was assured.

"We have been mobilising, stockpiling, readying ourselves for this great opportunity to deliver this very urgent aid but we need that peace to be reinstated," UN humanitarian office (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters.

The Syrian Arab Republic announces its rejection of the entry of any humanitarian aid to Aleppo, particularly from the Turkish regime, without coordination with the Syrian government and the United Nations. - The Syrian Foreign Ministry

Laerke said the UN was taking time to assess the truce's durability before it deployed aid to hotspots like east Aleppo. 

On Tuesday, the Syrian regime claimed that 20 aid trucks crossed from Turkey into Aleppo Tuesday after a ceasefire went into effect, but the UN could not confirm the report.

Since the deal was reached on Friday, "there has been a lot of mobilisation, frantic activity to be able to rush in aid... as soon as it is safe to do so, however, up to this moment, no, the convoys have not been rolling," Laerke said. 

"We need to enter into an environment where we are not in mortal danger."

Turkey is a key backer of Syria's opposition and has regularly called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Damascus in turn accuses its northern neighbour of sponsoring "terrorism".

Agencies contributed to this report.