The US and Russia have declared a ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria starting form sunset on Monday, as per the agreement reached by US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, reports said on Saturday.
Under the plan, the Syrian government will end combat missions in specified areas held by the opposition.
Russia and the US will establish a joint centre to combat jihadist groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS).
The announcement follows talks between Kerry and Lavrov.
The plan would need both the regime and opposition “to meet their obligations”, Kerry said in Geneva.
The opposition had indicated it was prepared to comply with the plan, he said, provided the Syrian government “shows it is serious”.
Lavrov said Russia had informed the Syrian government about the arrangements and the Syrian government was “ready to fulfil them”.
Humanitarian access
“The cessation of hostilities requires access to all besieg
The accord also provides for humanitarian access.
“The cessation of hostilities requires access to all besieged and hard-to-reach areas, including Aleppo,” Kerry said.
Seven days after the start of the cessation of hostilities, Russia and the US will establish a “joint implementation centre” to fight IS and another main group, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
Lavrov said the joint implementation centre would allow Russian and US forces to “separate the terrorists from the moderate opposition“.
He said the Russian and US air forces would carry out co-ordinated strikes strikes against the two groups, and that in some areas, that excluded action by the Syrian air force.
“We have agreed on the areas where such co-ordinated strikes would be taking place, and in those areas, on neutral agreement shared by the Syrian government as well, only the Russian and US air force will be functional,” he said.
Political transition
But Lavrov added that “the Syrian air force will be functional in other areas, outside those that we have singled out for Russian-American military co-operation“.
Lavrov and Kerry stressed that the plan could pave the way for a political transition.
“The plan is more prescriptive and far-reaching than any proposal to date and, if implemented by all sides, could allow political negotiations to take place on Syria’s future,” Kerry said.
The United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, welcomed the agreement and said the UN would exert all efforts to deliver humanitarian aid.
Fighting has recently escalated between Syria’s army and rebels in eastern Aleppo, where 250,000 people live.
On Sunday, Syrian government forces were reported to have recaptured parts of Aleppo which were lost to rebels last month, placing rebel-held districts in the city’s east once again under siege.
Source: BBC
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