The goal of diplomatic efforts to end the four-year-old conflict in Syria is to reach a long-term solution that does not involve Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

“This is about ending the war in Syria without Assad ...Assad can never be part of a long-term solution,” Ms Merkel told German legislators in the Bundestag Lower House of Parliament, drawing applause.

Meanwhile, British foreign secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday that Russia’s continued focus on targeting most of its airstrikes in Syria against Opposition forces rather than Islamic State (ISIS) was helping the militants advance.

In the latest attacks, at least 39 civilians have been killed in suspected Russian airstrikes on two markets in northern Syria, a monitoring group said. “The majority of Russian air strikes continue to target Syrian Opposition forces rather than Daesh,” Mr Hammond said.

Earlier, the United States and Russia agreed to plough on with efforts to halt Syria’s brutal civil war. After a three-hour meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US secretary of state John Kerry, the two sides appeared to be a step closer to each other’s positions on Syria.