But he said the effort was worth it if a single Syrian’s life could be improved.
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However, as the deadline approached, it was the Russians and the Syrian government which unleashed an “intense” round of bombings in Damascus and Aleppo.
Attacks needed to end and humanitarian aid had to be allowed through to desperate civilians, he said.
Turkey´s stance on the Syrian war is becoming increasingly intertwined with the battle it is waging in its own southeast against militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy.
“If Turkey were to send its forces into Syria, this would be completely illegal; they would be subject to reprisals from the Syrian Army and Russian air support”.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have announced that they will observe a Russia-US ceasefire plan in Syria, but will retaliate if attacked. It has also opened its borders to various Islamist militias, providing logistics and aid, and enabling hundreds of ISIS fighters to enter Syria via Turkey.
Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters Friday that Turkey supports the cease-fire agreement in principle but is anxious about the continued operations. The proposed truce will not include the Islamic State group or the Nusra Front, but the 18 nations that have agreed on a roadmap to peace in Syria have not yet agreed on a list of other “terrorist organizations” that will also continue to be targeted.
“We’re all aware of the potential pitfalls and there are plenty of reasons for skepticism”, Obama said.
Russian Federation and the United States are on opposing sides of the conflict, with Moscow backing Assad and Washington supporting the opposition, but the two powers have been making a concerted push for the ceasefire to be respected.
The Russian military says it has set up a coordination center to help enforce a cease-fire in Syria.
Speaking in a phone interview with The Associated Press, he said however that the opposition wants to stop the bloodshed and would abide by the truce.
“In fact, I think we are certain that there will continue to be fighting, in part because not only ISIL, but organizations like Al Nusra that is not part of any negotiations and is hostile to the United States, is going to continue to fight”.
Turkey’s prime minister has warned a Syrian Kurdish militia against taking advantage of an upcoming truce in Syria for actions that threaten Turkey’s security.
Obama also sought to show that a US-led coalition was winning the war against the Islamic State group.
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They have brought assistance to just under a quarter of the 480,000 people estimated to be living in 17 besieged places across Syria.
