BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on Syria's civil war and peace talks in Geneva (all times local):
4:00 p.m.
The U.N. envoy for Syria is pointing to "real but modest progress" in the country's humanitarian situation, even as doubts linger about the future of peace talks in Geneva.
Staffan de Mistura told reporters Thursday that 515 people were medically evacuated a day earlier from four Syrian municipalities: Zabadani, Madaya, Kfarya and Foua.
He also announced a "fact-finding" mission is seeking to arrange deliveries of humanitarian aid to the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, something President Barack Obama has publicly called for. De Mistura credits Russia for "arguing in favor" of the convoy.
Staffan de Mistura reiterates that he will speak on Friday about the future of the U.N.-brokered peace talks after the Western-backed opposition postponed its participation, in protest at the Syrian government's cease-fire violations.
De Mistura says he plans to nominate an unspecified "very effective person" to focus on the critical question of the thousands of detainees held Syria - a major issue for the opposition.
___
3:45 p.m.
A top American official says the U.S. is concerned about reports that Russia is moving military personnel and equipment back into Syria.
"It would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel in to Syria," Ben Rhodes, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Obama and Gulf leaders were meeting to discuss Syria and other regional conflicts. "We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process."
President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call earlier this week that Russia should focus on maintaining the cease-fire and pursuing a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Rhodes says the cease-fire has restored "some degree of calm" to several areas of Syria over the past several weeks and allowed much-needed humanitarian aid to be delivered. But he says the U.S. has been concerned by "an uptick" in violations of the truce agreement. He called on Russia to use its influence to ensure the Syrian government abides by the cease-fire terms.
___
3:30 p.m.
The International Commission for the Red Cross says that together with the U.N. it is delivering its largest ever humanitarian aid convoy, destined for an opposition-held town under siege in central Syria.
ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek says Thursday's aid convoy is the first to reach the town of Rastan in over a year. Krzysiek says the population of Rastan, which is in Homs province, has doubled because of the influx of people fleeing nearby fighting.
He says the convoy is made up of 65 trucks containing food, medicine and medical equipment, electricity generators and water treatment materials.
The two-month-old cease-fire, now in jeopardy, was intended in part to improve access to besieged areas of Syria. The U.N.'s humanitarian office said earlier this month that 21 percent of the nearly half million people in besieged areas of Syria were reached in March, down from 25 percent in February.
___
3:00 p.m.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the suspended participation of the Syrian opposition in the Geneva talks could lead to "a return of total armed conflict"
Zakharova said on Thursday that "we have a situation where terrorists are desperately trying to disrupt the political process," referring to the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee, which said Monday it was halting its involvement in talks.
Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Zakharova said the armed standoff in Syria is growing, especially to the north and south of Aleppo, though the U.S.- Russia brokered cease-fire agreement is generally holding in most parts of the country.
The spokeswoman blames Turkey for continuing to destabilize Syria by colluding with extremist groups
___
1:30 p.m.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Syria's fragile cease-fire remains best the hope for ending the conflict.
Speaking in the Turkish capital, Ankara, he said the cease-fire was "under strain" but remains the "best basis for a negotiated, peaceful solution to the crisis."
Stoltenberg noted that Russia has maintained a "considerable military presence" in support of the Syrian government despite announcing a partial withdrawal.
A February cease-fire agreement between President Bashar Assad's government and rebel fighters, which excluded extremist factions like the Islamic State group, greatly reduced violence in Syria but has all but collapsed in the north of the country amid faltering peace talks in Geneva.