The Syrian government has “approved” a truce deal announced by Russian Federation and the United States as part of a plan to find a political solution to the crisis in the Arab country, the state news agency says.
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“It is profoundly in the interests of the United States to target al Qaeda, to target al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, which is Nusra, an organisation that is opposed to a peaceful transition, an organisation that is an enemy of the legitimate opposition, an organisation that is now plotting attacks beyond Syria’s borders, including against the United States”.
More than 290,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Syria first erupted in March 2011, and several attempts at securing a long-lasting truce have failed.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said that the Geneva agreement had been reached “with full knowledge” of the Syrian government, which has approved it.
Fighting must be halted across Syria and humanitarian aid reach those in need “from the first day” of the ceasefire, it said.
Delivery of humanitarian supplies into the besieged city of Aleppo will resume and attacks on Syrian civilians by government forces will end.
Russian Federation must convince President Bashar al-Assad to hold back on its attacks in areas held by the opposition.
The opposition High Negotiations Committee on Saturday said it had yet to receive “the official text” of the agreement.
Forty days of fighting in Aleppo has killed almost 700 civilians, including 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group. It is not clear how the government will distinguish between the two, and whether it can strike at the Fatah al-Sham group without hitting other rebels as well.
Mainstream rebels appear reluctant to withdraw from frontlines where Fateh al-Sham Front jihadists are also present because of fears the ceasefire will fail, he said.
“The moderate groups will reorganise and distance themselves from the radical groups”.
But the question of Assad’s fate remains a key sticking point: the HNC repeated its demand this week that he leave power, but Russian Federation continues to back him.
“This is just the beginning of our new relations”, said Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister.
“A big part of the agreement serves the regime and doesn’t apply pressure on it and doesn’t serve the Syrian people”, said Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim.
A war monitor reported clashes around Aleppo and Damascus, but pushes by the government in the mountainous northwest and rebels in the southwest indicated an effort to improve their positions before fighting is due to stop on Monday.
The opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels said on Saturday they were sceptical the deal would be enforced as Damascus and Moscow had continued bombing their areas under earlier truces.
The US special envoy to Syria on Saturday appealed to rebels to commit to a landmark ceasefire deal brokered by Washington and Moscow, according to a letter seen by AFP.
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“The Syrian government (is) accountable for this blatant breach of Israeli sovereignty, the IDF (Israel defence forces) will continue to act in order to safeguard Israel and its civilians”, it added.
