Moscow/Ankara - Russian President Vladimir
Putin announced a ceasefire between Syrian opposition groups and
the Syrian government starting at midnight on Thursday.
The parties were also prepared to start peace talks, Putin
said, after Moscow, Iran and Turkey expressed readiness to
broker a deal to settle the nearly six-year-old Syrian war.
The Syrian army announced a nationwide halt to fighting but
said Islamic State and ex-Nusra Front militants and all groups
linked to them would be excluded from the deal. It did not say
which unnamed groups would be excluded.
Several rebel officials told Reuters they had agreed to the
ceasefire, due to come into effect at 2200 GMT on Thursday.
It was the third nationwide ceasefire agreed in Syria this
year. The previous two, negotiated by Washington and Moscow,
collapsed within weeks as warring sides accused each other of
violations. The current deal does not involve the United States
or United Nations.
One rebel commander expressed optimism that this deal would
hold: "This time I have confidence in its seriousness. There is
new international input," he said, without elaborating.
Talks on the latest truce picked up momentum after Russia,
Iran and Turkey last week said they were ready to back a peace
deal and adopted a declaration setting out principles that any
agreement should adhere to.
Putin said opposition groups and the Syrian government had
signed a number of documents, including the ceasefire, measures
to monitor the truce, and a statement on readiness to start
peace talks.
"The agreements reached are, of course, fragile, need a
special attention and involvement... But after all, this is a
notable result of our joint work, efforts by the defence and
foreign ministries, our partners in the regions," Putin said.
He also said Russia had agreed to reduce its military
deployment in Syria, where its support has turned the tide in
favour of President Bashar al-Assad in a war that has killed
more than 300,000 and forced more than 11 million to flee their
homes.
Turkey said it and Russia would guarantee the ceasefire.
"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," the Turkish foreign
ministry said.
Three rebel officials told Reuters the deal excluded Islamic
State, but did include the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, formerly
al Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front - appearing to
contradict the Syrian army's statement.
Russia's defence ministry said the insurgent groups that
signed the agreement included the powerful Islamist Ahrar
al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam, which operates primarily near Damascus,
and Jabha Shamiya, one of the main groups that has operated in
Aleppo.
Washington sidelined
The United States has been sidelined in recent negotiations
and is not due to attend the next round of peace talks in
Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, a key Russian ally.
Its exclusion reflects growing frustration from both Turkey
and Russia over Washington's policy on Syria, officials have
said.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the
United States could join the peace process once President-elect
Donald Trump takes office next month.
Talks on the ceasefire reflect the complexity of Syria's
civil war, with an array of groups and foreign interests
involved on all sides.
Turkey and Russia support different sides in the war. Ankara
has insisted on the departure of Assad, who is backed by Russia.
Likewise, demands that troops from the Lebanese Hezbollah
movement leave Syria may not please Iran, another major
supporter of Assad. Hezbollah troops have been fighting
alongside Syrian government forces against rebels opposed to
Assad.
"All foreign fighters need to leave Syria. Hezbollah needs
to return to Lebanon," Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said.
Sources have told Reuters that, under an outline deal
between the three countries, Syria could be divided into
informal zones of regional power and Assad would remain
president for at least a few years.
Meanwhile, disagreements remain between big powers.
Ankara supports the Free Syrian Army, a loose alliance of
rebel groups, some of which it is backing in operations in
northern Syria designed to sweep Islamic State and Syrian
Kurdish fighters from its southern border.
The United States is backing the Syrian Kurdish YPG in the
fight against Islamic State in Syria, a move that has infuriated
Turkey, which sees the YPG as an extension of the militant
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Ankara fears that advances by
Kurdish fighters in Syria could inflame militants at home.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused the United
States of supporting terrorism in Syria, including Islamic
State, comments that Washington has dismissed as "ludicrous".
"We, as Turkey, have been calling on Western nations for
some time to not distinguish between terrorist organizations and
to be principled and consistent in their stance," Erdogan said
in a speech on Thursday.
"Some countries, namely the United States, have come up with
some excuses on their own and overtly supported the
organisations that massacre innocent people in our region."