“We’ve encouraged Dr Hijab, whatever his reservations, to be prepared to return to the discussions in Geneva”, said Hammond. Al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and other militant factions designated as terrorist groups are also part of the cease-fire.
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British Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokeswoman said: “The call was initiated by the European leaders because we want to take the opportunity that has been created by the truce in recent days to open the path for more substantive peace process and negotiations”.
France’s President Francois Hollande talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday in Paris.
The agreement that came into effect on Saturday has slowed the pace of the war in Syria, but rebels fighting Assad say the government has kept up attacks on strategically important frontlines in northwestern Syria.
The talks, under the aegis of the United Nations were originally due to begin on March 7 in Geneva.
The rebels, the first to complain about the ceasefire’s brokering, are also loudly condemning the ceasefire for holding, claiming that the success of the ceasefire is giving the Assad government a chance to mobilize forces against them.
FILE – In this March 2, 2016, file photo, Syrian solders and Russian solders, who escort a group of journalists in the background, stand near a auto covered by collage showing photos of faces of Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and a Syrian general, President’s Assad brother, Maher Assad, center, in Maarzaf, about 15 kilometers west of Hama.
Whether the talks get off the ground remains to be seen as the key opposition group is balking.
“If the truce ends, the regime is ready to attack in a number of areas right away”, said Abu Ghiath al-Shami of the Alwiyat Seif al-Sham group.
“Aid convoys are stopped at regime checkpoints for long periods on the excuse of searching them under the eyes of the world, and Syrians are still dying daily from hunger and lack of supplies”, said the Higher Negotiating Committee’s statement.
The government, backed by Russian air power and fighters from Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, made significant territorial gains against rebels since the new year, focussed in areas of western Syria near the borders with Turkey and Jordan.
On their behalf, the foreign ministers of France, Britain, and Germany convened at a meeting to discuss the importance of guaranteeing the delivery of humanitarian aid and relief to Syria as a core pillar for any progress at the peace talks.
The partial truce has dramatically reduced overall violence across the devastated country – a remarkable accomplishment in a war that has killed at least 250,000 people, displaced half the population and decimated towns and villages.
In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry spoke on Friday by telephone about the process of resolving the Syrian conflict.
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“The two sides called to start the negotiations as soon as possible… between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the opposition, during which the Syrians themselves should determine the future of their country”, the ministry said in a statement. Because the cease-fire agreement excludes areas held by the Islamic State group and the Nusra Front, some of the continuing violence is not technically a breach of the truce.
