New Delhi. A fragile calm held across Syria a day after a truce brokered by Russia and Turkey came into effect, observers reported. The ceasefire was announced within days of the Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, regaining control over Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city.
Turkey and Russia reached an agreement on a comprehensive plan for a ceasefire in Syria, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported December 28, a potentially major breakthrough after nearly six years of conflict.
There were reports of isolated violence, including clashes in central Hama province between government forces and jihadist factions, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were casualties among regime forces in the clashes after midnight with jihadists near the town of Mahardeh. The fighters were believed to be from a faction that did not sign the ceasefire announced December 29 by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and confirmed by Syria’s army and mainstream opposition bodies.
“This agreement we’ve reached is very fragile, as we all understand. They require special attention and patience, professional attitude, and constant contact with our partners,” Putin said, flanked by the Russian foreign and defence ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu.
“The first was signed by the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition to stop hostilities in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. The second one is a set of measures to control the ceasefire. The third document is a declaration of intention for Syrian settlement,” the Russian president said. “The agreement is the result of joint efforts by Russia, Turkey, and Iran”, Putin said.
“Great work has been done in cooperation with our partners from Turkey. We know that only recently there was a trilateral meeting in Moscow of the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, and Iran, where all of the nations made obligations not only to control, but also to act as guarantors of the peace process in Syria,” the Russian President concluded.
The deal announced by Putin was confirmed by Turkey. The two nations, which back opposing sides in the conflict, will act as guarantors of the ceasefire.
The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), regarded by the UN as Syria’s main opposition body, confirmed the deal, which excludes jihadist groups.
The agreement envisages establishing ceasefire from midnight of December 29, but does not cover the terrorist organizations and is in the framework of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2254.
Lavrov said that the ceasefire agreement would be submitted to the UN Security Council later December 29 for potential endorsement.
The plan will be in force in all areas of Syria where the fighting is underway between the government forces and armed opposition groups. It will be presented to all the parties to the Syrian conflict.
According to the Kremlin, if the ceasefire deal holds and works, the next phase involving talks on a political settlement of the conflict will be held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, within a month.
Moscow and Ankara will act as guarantors of the settlement.
The Russian and Turkish foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, held intensive discussions both telephonically and in person when they met in Moscow on December 20, a day after the Russian envoy to Turkey was killed. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was also part of the talks in Moscow.
Lavrov, Cavusoglu and Zarif held a trilateral meeting in Moscow and agreed on a joint statement on the political settlement in Syria.
Qadri Jamil, leader of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation and representative of the “Moscow group” of the Syrian opposition, earlier told the TASS news agency that talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Astana will be held in the second half of January 2017.
The effort would continue in Geneva, where Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria, plans to launch the next round of talks on February 8.
Close to half a million people are believed to have been killed in the bitter fighting that followed the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. Assad has consistently refused to step down, citing terrorist involvement in efforts to remove him from power. Another four million Syrians have fled the country to seek refuge in neighbouring countries and Europe.
The truce is being supported by seven major armed opposition groups that have over 60,000 fighters in their ranks, Russian Defence Minister Shoigu said.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released a list of the groups that have pledged to stop fighting, which includes Faylaq Al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Thuwar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Muwahhideen, Jaysh Idlib and Jabhat al-Shamiyah.
Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam) are the key names, neither of them part of the FSA.
Shoigu said under the deal any armed group that refuses to cease hostilities would be considered a legitimate target for the use of force, as is the case with terrorist groups Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front, which are not included in the truce.
Shoigu said if the agreement held, it would allow Russia to scale down its military presence in Syria.
(With inputs from agencies)
