In a joint statement by the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and the European Union, the international community placed the onus for bringing an end to the Syrian civil war on Russia. In a statement, the countries wrote, “The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts.” The effort came as the battle for the high-ground surrounding Aleppo intensified, with bombing by Russian jets described as “relentless” pounding the area non-stop as Moscow’s protégés, the Syrian army, fought for control against the rebel forces. Despite the show of a short ceasefire, the Russian military has since backed President Assad’s effort to gain control of Aleppo with a massive offensive that has so far resulted in “scores” of deaths. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who worked for weeks to create the brief ceasefire ostensibly with the Russians, is now clearly at odds with President Putin as he pleads for an end to the aerial assaults. In addition to about 300,000 deaths since the civil war began five years ago, some 11 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes.