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Efforts of Russian Federation and United States on Syria not in vain – Lavrov
At a joint news conference after a marathon day of negotiations, USA secretary of state John Kerry said the plan can reduce violence in Syria and lead to a long-sought political transition, ending more than five years of bloodshed. That sets off a seven-day period that will allow for humanitarian aid and civilian traffic into Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and commercial capital, which has faced a recent onslaught.
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The final hours of the talks dragged out as Kerry contacted US President Barack Obama’s office to get approval for the plan, but the top diplomat said both governments stand behind it.
Under the agreement, Russian-backed government forces and opposition groups, supported by the U.S. and Gulf States, would halt fighting for a while as a confidence building measure.
Kerry said the “bedrock” of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the banned Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
The deal culminates months of frenetic diplomacy that included four meetings between Kerry and Lavrov since August 26, and a lengthy face-to-face in China between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We will jointly agree on strikes against terrorists to be carried out by the Russian and American air forces”.
In a speech this week in Britain, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter accused Russian Federation of sowing seeds of global instability and questioned whether Moscow genuinely wants a viable cease-fire in Syria.
On a relevant note, UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said in a statement that doesn’t rule out issuing an important statement about resolving the crisis in Syria on September 21st, saying that it will be an important date and that the time has come to give more momentum for settling the crisis. In exchange, Mr. Assad’s air force would halt all operations, and US and Russian airstrikes would target only Islamic State and the Syria Conquest Front.
Kerry said this “new equation” offers an opportunity to find a peaceful solution and reverse the current trend of “creating more terrorists” and more destruction.
Also Monday, the United States and Russian Federation will begin preparations for the creation of a Joint Implementation Center that will involve information sharing needed to define areas controlled by the al-Qaida-linked group Fath al-Sham, previously known as the Nusra Front, and other opposition groups in areas “of active hostilities”.
“The Syrian Government has been informed by us about these arrangements, and it is ready to fulfil them”, he added.
Both sides have failed to deliver their ends of the bargain over several previous truces.
With Syrian government airstrikes halted, there’s a potential to “change the nature of the conflict”, Kerry said, noting that the strikes have been the main driver of casualties and migration flows. -Russian interaction has upset several leading national security officials in Washington, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper, and Kerry only appeared at the news conference after several hours of internal USA discussions. He then presented journalists with several boxes of pizza, saying, “This is from the USA delegation”, and two bottles of vodka, adding, “This is from the Russian delegation”.
Russian Federation has emphasized the possibility of reaching a deal with Washington on military collaboration against terrorist groups in the country.
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The United Nations said on Friday the Syrian government had effectively stopped aid convoys this month and the besieged city of Aleppo was close to running out of fuel, making the talks even more urgent. Forty days of fighting in Aleppo has killed almost 700 civilians, including 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group.