Syria Ceasefire Plan Agreed in Munich
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Major world actors agreed on Friday to implement a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria and to expand delivery of humanitarian aid to people caught up in the conflict, a report said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to reporters after a meeting in Munich that included Russia and more than a dozen other countries, said the target for implementing the nationwide cessation of fighting was a week's time.
He said all participants had agreed that Syrian peace negotiations should resume in Geneva as soon as possible.
He noted that the cessation would not apply to the ISIL terrorist group and other militant groups fighting in Syria, Reuters reported.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday had raised the specter of an interminable conflict or even a world war if powers failed to negotiate an end to the fighting in Syria, which has killed 250,000 people, caused a refugee crisis and empowered ISIL terrorists.
The first peace talks in two years between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Syria collapsed last week before they began in the face the recent major advances by the Syrian troops in the city of Aleppo. The talks are scheduled to be held on February 25.
Ministers at Thursday's talks wrangled over three core issues: a gradual cessation of hostilities with a firm end date, humanitarian access to cities being besieged by both sides and a commitment that Syrian parties return to Geneva for political negotiations.
Syria’s main opposition group welcomed the plan reached at the meeting, saying it should prove to be effective before it joins the talks that are expected to resume later this month.
The Munich meeting saw the participation of diplomatic delegations from Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US as well as the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations.
