Under the agreement, which is set to take effect Saturday, Russian and Assad’s forces would agree to stop airstrikes against opposition fighters who are verified by both the USA and Russia to be party to the pact.
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The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told The Associated Press on Monday that this week is shaping up as “crucial” for diplomatic efforts to help end the fighting, though he declined to provide details of the negotiations.
“I am gratified to see the final arrangements concluded today for a cessation of hostilities in Syria and call on all parties to accept and fully comply with its terms”, Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement today. Those sides must accept the deal by Friday.
It is important to effectively thwart further attempts of the Islamic State (IS), the Nusra Front and other terrorist groups, which are betting on further aggravation of the situation in Syria and the whole region, to further incite sectarian strife, the statement said.
“In 10 years, if I can save Syria as president — but that doesn’t mean I’m still going to be president in 10 years, I’m just talking about my vision of the 10 years”, he said in an interview published on the newspaper’s website. The Kurds have been fighting IS, even as they face attacks from America’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally Turkey.
The Al-Jazeera TV network said it had obtained a draft of the US-Russia deal with the date included. “U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said to reporters during a briefing February 17 that “[Russian] bombing continued at pace” during the week that the ceasefire was supposed to have occurred. Under the pact, a hotline will be established to report violations to the cease-fire.
The two countries also will share “pertinent information” about territory held by rebels accepting the truce.
A US statement added that humanitarian groups need immediate access to additional areas, and that future deliveries should be “sustained and unimpeded”.
The timing of the ceasefire is only days ahead of Moscow’s proposal earlier this month for it to start on March 1.
Syria has been gripped by a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.
The road between Aleppo and the town of Khanasser to the southeast was the only way regime forces and civilians living in government-controlled neighbourhoods of the city could travel to surrounding provinces. And Assad’s military made significant gains on the ground.
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The latest bombings came as Kerry said he had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and agreed an initial basis on how to implement a ceasefire.
