The siege of Aleppo has ruined efforts by western powers to end the war

The EU is offering financial support for a Syria still ruled by President Assad in a last-ditch effort to retain western influence on the outcome of the war, The Times has been told.

As the battle for Aleppo reaches an endgame, EU officials are said to have accepted that previous western demands that Assad step down are unrealistic. There is a growing sense that America has been sidelined as a western negotiating partner.

Instead, the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, put new proposals to opposition leaders at a meeting two weeks ago, with an offer of aid and investment as a sweetener for all sides.

The proposals were in line with United Nations resolutions calling for a “political transition” in Syria. The United States,