Carter said defense ministers from more than two dozen countries gave a “broad endorsement” of a refined US plan for defeating the Islamic State. But CBS News correspondent Holly Williams, reporting from Kilis, Turkey, on the Syrian border, says its success is still doubtful, because the Russians say they’ll continue their airstrikes against terrorist groups, which they’ve said in the past while also targeting America-backed rebels.
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Washington called for an immediate end to the fighting, but diplomats said Russia had suggested March 1, which the Americans say would leave the Russians another two weeks to achieve their military goals.
Writing on Twitter, Britain’s special representative for Syria Gareth Bayley said the agreement had been “hard won”. He said the conflict must be resolved through talks, not by opening another front in the war.
This left little room to doubt Russia’s intention to keep bombing Aleppo until the Syrian government regains control.
In announcing the deal to push for a pause in hostilities, USA officials have been cautious in their expectations.
He also said that Saudi FM Jubair, during the meeting, accused Russians of bombarding all oppositions of Assad, which was responded by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov who reiterated that Russian airplanes just bombard terrorists specially ISIS and Al-Nusra. A day earlier, Zarif met UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura on the sidelines of the Munich talks held by the group known as the International Syria Support Group (ISSG).
But while the announcement marks a potentially significant development, it comes as President Bashar Assad’s military, backed by Russian air support, closes in on the Syrian opposition held city of Aleppo. “Politics is the art of the possible”, he told a United Nations briefing.
Foreign ministers talked late into the night in Munich to try to revive the peace process, which has so far failed to halt a five-year war that has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced millions.
Mr Sabra said rebels in Syria “are the ones who will decide on the implementation of this truce”, adding “we are committed to this decision being taken by the HNC and the factions”.
On Thursday, one United Nations diplomatic source told Reuters the Russians were “stringing Kerry along” with talk about cease-fires and humanitarian issues, while they finished the business of arranging a battlefield victory for Assad: “It’s clear to everyone now that Russia really doesn’t want a negotiated solution but for Assad to win”. Both are terrorist groups that a U.S.-led coalition is battling in Syria and Iraq.
Syria’s main opposition group welcomed the plan by the world powers on Friday.
Russia, Syria and Iran argue that other groups, notably some supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, should not be eligible for the cease-fire, and there was no sign Friday that those differences had been resolved.
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But British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said ending fighting could only succeed if Russian Federation stopped air strikes supporting Syrian government forces’ advance against the opposition.
