Syria’s government has agreed a nationwide ceasefire with rebels in a deal brokered by key ally Russia and opposition-backing Turkey.
The truce, which came into force at 10pm on Thursday and largely held overnight, is designed to pave the way for a political solution to the conflict after nearly six years of war.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said there will soon be peace talks in Kazakhstan between President Bashar al Assad’s government and the opposition.
But one rebel group said the truce excludes Islamic State and the Kurdish YPG militia, while there were conflicting reports about whether it also excludes another group formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Mr Putin acknowledged that agreements were “fragile” and would need “special attention and involvement”.
The development was welcomed by the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and Washington described it as a “positive development”.
Turkey’s prime minister said the US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia would not take part in peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana as “no group that we regard as a terror organisation will sit around the negotiating table and we regard the PYD as a terror organisation”.
Russia said the truce would include 62,000 opposition fighters and that it had set up a hotline with Turkey to monitor compliance.
Mr Putin said Russia would scale back its presence in the country, where it has provided crucial support to the government, though he did not specify how many troops or weapons would be withdrawn.
Syrian state news agency SANA said the military “declares a comprehensive nationwide cessation of hostilities as of midnight”.
It said this followed “successes achieved by the armed forces” – an apparent reference to the capture of rebel-held neighbourhoods in Aleppo earlier this month.
A spokesman for Syria’s opposition National Coalition said it backed the ceasefire and “urges all parties to abide by it”.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “With this agreement, parties have agreed to cease all armed attacks, including aerial, and have promised not to expand the areas they control against each other.”
Several previous attempts to bring an end to the civil war – in which more than 300,000 people have been killed and 11 million have had to flee their homes – have failed.
Two other nationwide truces, in February and September, were brokered by Russia and the US but Washington now appears to have been sidelined from the process.
Turkey and Russia oversaw a ceasefire in Aleppo earlier this month that allowed remaining rebels and civilians to flee.
UNICEF UK chief operating officer Mark Devlin said it was “imperative” that the body should now be able to enter at-risk areas.
The charity already has supplies stationed in warehouses in western Aleppo and is on the ground “ready to get into those difficult besieged areas”, Mr Devlin said.
Source: Sky News
