Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reassured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin via a phone call on Wednesday that his administration will observe a cessation of hostilities as planned by Russia and the U.S., according to SANA.
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Putin and Assad “stressed the importance of continuing an uncompromising fight” against jihadi groups and “other terrorist groups included in the relevant UN Security Council list”, the Kremlin continued.
The cessation of hostilities plan does not include Islamic State or the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate that is widely deployed in opposition-held areas. “In part, he confirmed the Syrian government’s preparedness to promote truce”, the statement says.
“If this is a ceasefire that is up to the mercy of Russian Federation, which has brutally attacked the moderate opposition and aligned with Assad under the pretext of fighting Islamic State, we fear that the fire pouring over innocent people will never stop”, Erdogan said in a televised speech. The plan is brokered by Moscow and Washington and the ceasefire will start from Friday midnight.
Instead, the group says that they are willing to accept a separate two-week ceasefire as opposed to this open-ended one, to see if everyone is “serious”. “However, in this case Russian Federation and the United States will use their influence, their potential to bring closer the stances of the countries that have diametrically opposite views on the settlement”, Peskov said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday the White House has a “plan B” in place if a recent agreement with Russian Federation on a cease-fire for Syria fails – a claim that drew criticism from his Republican opponents who charged that Moscow could renege on the deal without fearing any response from Washington.
Putin has embarked on a round of telephone diplomacy, speaking to Assad, the Saudi king, the Iranian president and the Israeli prime minister.
“We support a ceasefire that will allow our Syrian brothers to breathe. However, this ceasefire agreement provides clear support to the Assad regime”, he said in a speech.
The HNC, which is meeting in Riyadh, was working on an official memorandum containing observations to be sent to states involved with the agreement, said Alloush, who heads the political office of the Jaish al-Islam rebel group.
Talal Sillo, a spokesman for the predominantly Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces told The Associated Press that his group will not abide by the truce because they are fighting against IS in northern Syria.
President al-Assad asserted, during the phone call, government’s readiness to contribute to implementing the cessation of the fighting actions.
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It referred at the beginning of the statement to Islamic State, Nusra Front as well as Hezbollah, Iraqi and Afghan Shi’ite militias as “terrorist and extremist”.
