The humanitarian situation in Syria is likely get worse, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday, underlining the need for 'urgent measures' to ease the effects of a year of bloodshed.

Jakob Kellenberger came to Moscow to ask Russia to help persuade the Syrian government to allow more access for humanitarian aid to Syrians trapped in zones of fighting.

The ICRC has been pushing for daily two-hour ceasefires between government forces and insurgents to allow for relief delivery and medical evacuations.

Russia's close ties with Syria make it one of the few countries left with any leverage over President Bashar Al-Assad.

But Moscow is increasingly isolated in its support for the Damascus government, whose forces have killed more than 8,000 people in a year of violence, according to the United Nations.

'Our assessment, unfortunately, is that the humanitarian situation is most likely to deteriorate,' Kellenberger told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the start of talks.

Kellenberger said he wanted to share the organisation's assessment and 'our convictions about what are the most urgent measures to be taken in the humanitarian field.'

Moscow, with China, has shielded Assad by vetoing two U.N. Security Council resolutions condemning his government and has continued delivering arms to Syria under contracts, but has expressed support for international humanitarian aid efforts.

In a rare show of unity with Western powers, Russia and  China joined other U.N. Security Council members on March 1 in expressing 'deep disappointment' at Syria's failure to allow U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos to visit the country and said she be allowed in immediately.

Amos has since been allowed to enter Syria, but has called for unhindered access for humanitarian aid.

The ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent have managed to reach some areas affected by the fighting, providing thousands of people with food, medicines and other essential items, but Kellenberger said much more access was needed.

'A daily cessation in the fighting for a period of at least two hours remains essential in order for emergency medical evacuations to take place safely and for aid to reach vulnerable people swiftly,' he said in a statement on Sunday.

'The ICRC is asking for an unambiguous commitment from all concerned to these breaks in the fighting.' – Reuters