The United States and Russian Federation said early Saturday in Geneva they had reached a landmark agreement that would lead to a cease-fire in the five-year-old Syrian civil war and pave the way for broader military cooperation in the battle against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists.
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The deal was announced by John Kerry, the USA secretary of state, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, after 13 hours of talks in Geneva and a tense wait while Kerry consulted others in his administration by phone to Washington. -Russian military partnership that would come into force if Moscow can pressure its ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, to halt offensive operations. -Russian counterterrorism alliance, only a year after Obama chastised Putin for a military intervention that US officials said was mainly created to keep Assad in power and target more moderate anti-Assad forces.
Until a cease-fire holds, US officials believe, it will be next to impossible to advance the political negotiations aimed at a transition in Syria that would include an interim government and elections and usher President Bashar Assad from power.
The new arrangement is supposed to begin Monday in Syria, with a seven-day-long continuous “genuine reduction of violence”, in Mr. Kerry’s words, and broad, unrestricted humanitarian access to the ravaged northern city of Aleppo and other besieged areas.
The US and Russian Federation say they have struck a deal aimed at ending Syria’s civil war.
The U.S. and Russian Federation will create a joint intelligence-sharing center after the cease-fire has taken effect for seven continuous days, Mr. Lavrov said.
The government advance further sealed off Aleppo’s opposition-held eastern districts and regime troops backed by the Russian air force have completely encircled opposition-held neighbourhoods.
Below are visualizations overviewing the devastation caused by the Syrian Civil War.
He spoke early on Saturday at a joint press conference with Lavrov after a marathon day of negotiations in Geneva.
“Only the Russian and American air forces will work in these zones”, Lavrov said. “This is an opportunity, and not more than that until it becomes a reality”. Mr. Assad has attacked many of them on the pretense of attacking Nusra.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, called the agreement a real window of opportunity and said he would consult the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on the timing of new political negotiations. “After a period of reduced violence, then we will see the United States and Russian Federation taking coordinated steps” to fight terrorists and restart a political process.
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But they warned there was no guarantee of a final agreement within the narrow window before both men return home later Friday, coming just four days after the pair met in China and failed to narrow their differences. Some of those groups are supported by the US. A cessation of hostilities negotiated between Kerry and Lavrov in February fell apart within weeks and efforts to reach a political settlement in the war-torn country are on the verge of collapse. “I think it’s going to be very hard for it to hold”.
