Russia called on Tuesday for a swift resumption of stalled Syrian peace talks, saying it was the only way to halt "massive violations" of human rights perpetrated in the five-year-old conflict.

Russia, a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air strikes in September to support the Syrian army and its militia allies battling rebels and ISIS fighters, and is backing an offensive on rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo.

Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the U.N. independent commission of inquiry on Syria, said that the Syrian government was conducting daily air strikes, while militant groups including ISIS and the Nusra Front also carried out indiscriminate attacks.

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