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Ceasefire in Syria to commence at midnight on Feb. 27 – Russia & US
The US and Russia have adopted “Terms for a Cessation of Hostilities in Syria” and propose that a ceasefire start on Saturday at midnight Damascus time. Terror groups, such as ISIS and Al-Nusra, are not part of the truce.
RT,
22
February, 2015
According
to the statement, the truce will “be
applied to [all] those parties to the Syrian conflict that have
indicated their commitment”
to accept its terms. It will exclude Islamic State, Al Nusra Front
and “other
terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.”
The
ceasefire plan also stipulates that other parties should indicate
“their
commitment to and acceptance of the terms for the cessation of
hostilities”
by no later than 12:00 (Damascus time) on February 26.
In
terms of GMT, the ceasefire is due to take place on Thursday at
22:00, and all the parties should voice their agreement by 10:00.
President
Vladimir Putin said he had a telephone call with Barack Obama and
both the leaders welcomed the plan praising it as an important result
of several rounds of closed talks.
Putin
noted strikes on terror targets are to continue.
“As
for ISIS, Al-Nusra and other terror groups – regarded as such by
the UN Security Council – they are totally exempt from the truce,”
he said. “Strikes
against them will continue.”
Moscow
and Washington are to work together to determine which groups will
not be targeted.
“This
is a real chance to stop the bloodshed in Syria,”
as well as to deliver humanitarian aid, Putin said in a televised
statement. Russia is to exercise its influence on Damascus, he said,
adding that he expects to see the same effort from the US with
regards to the opposition forces and allies.
According
to the joint statement, Russia and the US are also to set up a
communications hotline and possibly a working group to exchange
information after the cessation of hostilities comes into effect.
The
document also announces the establishment of an International Syria
Support Group (ISSG) Ceasefire Task Force under the auspices of the
UN. It will be tasked with identifying territories held by
terrorists, ensuring communications between all parties in order to
“rapidly
de-escalate tensions,”
and reporting any “persistent
non-compliant behavior by any of the parties.”
Riad
Hijab, a coordinator for the Supreme Negotiations Committee – a
group of Syrian opposition forces backed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia –
also confirmed that a provisional agreement has been reached. He
added that the deal would be "according
to international guarantees.”
The
announcement comes just a day after multiple blasts rocked the Syrian
cities of Damascus and Homs, claiming the lives of more than 114
people and wounding hundreds.
A
series of explosions hit the Sayeda Zeinab district in the south of
Syria’s capital Damascus on Sunday. At least 83 people were killed
and almost 200 injured when two suicide bombers reportedly blew
themselves up in the crowd gathered in the area of the first blast.
Earlier
on the same day, at least 34 people died in a double bombing attack
in Homs. According to some reports the death toll in the incident
reached 46 with more than 110 injured.
On
Sunday, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Damascus is ready for a
ceasefire, but will not tolerate terrorists exploiting it to restore
their positions, adding that the Syrian Army will still continue
fight Al-Nusra and Islamic State, as well as radical Islamist Ahrar
al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam.
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart, John Kerry,
recently discussed the Syrian crisis and efforts aimed at starting
the peace process in the country.
On
Saturday, the two ministers discussed “practical
cooperation” on
Syria between the US and Russia during a telephone call. They also
exchanged their views on the progress of the inter-Syrian talks in
Geneva, paying attention to the issue of
developing “modalities” towards
reaching a ceasefire.
At
the same time, US and Russian representatives in Geneva agreed on a
document outlining the cessation of violence in Syria. It stipulates
the measures that each party in the conflict should take to reach a
true.
On
Sunday, Lavrov had two more telephone conversations with Kerry and
the two ministers discussed different aspects of the future
armistice. After speaking to Lavrov by phone, Kerry said the they had
reached a provisional agreement on the major terms of the truce.
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