Syrian Government And Rebels have Signed Ceasefire Deal, Says Putin

Russian president says opposing forces have agreed to new round of negotiations to find political solution to conflict


 A tractor clears rubble as the Syrian government started to clean up areas formerly held by opposition forces in Aleppo. The Assad government and armed Syrian opposition have signed a ceasefire agreement and agreed to begin a new round of negotiations to find a political solution to the country’s civil war, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has said.

The ceasefire, which was confirmed by a rebel official, the Syrian army and the Turkish foreign ministry, is to come into force at midnight on Thursday (22.00 GMT).

“We have just received news that a few hours ago the event we have all been waiting for and working towards has happened,” Putin said during a televised meeting with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and its defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.Putin said three documents had been signed: a ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and the armed opposition; a list of control mechanisms to ensure the ceasefire would work; and a statement of intent to begin negotiations on a political end to the conflict.

Putin described the ceasefire as fragile and said it would “require a lot of attention”.

Turkey and Russia would act as guarantors, Turkey’s foreign ministry said, adding that the agreement excluded groups the UN security council deemed to be terrorists.

It called on all sides wielding influence on the warring parties to provide the necessary support to halt hostilities.

In Damascus, the Syrian army said the ceasefire came after the “successes achieved by the armed forces”, an apparent reference to the capture of rebel-held neighbourhoods of Aleppo this month

“Russia has again proved its leading role in international peacekeeping activities,” said Sergei Zheleznyak, a Russian MP and member of the parliament’s international affairs committee. He called the agreement “a major diplomatic, military and political success”.

If a ceasefire can hold and meaningful progress made on negotiations, it will indeed be a huge coup for Putin, who launched Moscow’s first intervention outside the borders of the former Soviet Union since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in order to provide backing to Assad.

Putin will also take satisfaction in the successful sidelining of the US from the process, after years of fruitless discussions between the two countries’ foreign ministers over Syria.

It was no accident that in noting all the “interested powers” who might be involved in the talks, the US was mentioned way down the list, after regional players such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Lavrov also pointedly said that the US could be included in talks only after 20 January, when Donald Trump becomes president. The outgoing Obama administration has been scathing of Russia’s role in Syria. Earlier this month, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, launched a scathing attack on her Russian counterpart asking him if he was “incapable of feeling shame”.

Trump, by contrast, has praised Russia’s role in Syria, saying “Russia is killing Isis”, despite the fact that the majority of Russia’s attacks have not targeted Isis.