Putin: Syrian truce is real chance to end bloodshed
A ceasefire in Syria will come into effect on February 27, Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, said in a special address, in which he also expressed hope that all of the warring parties will support the action plan agreed upon by Moscow and Washington.
The statement was first published on the Kremlin’s official website on Monday. This is the full text according to RT:
Friends,
I just had a telephone conversation with President of the United States of America Barack Obama. The phone call was initiated by the Russian side, but the interest was certainly mutual.
During our conversation, we approved joint statements of Russia and the US, as co-chairs of the ISSG, on the cessation of hostilities in Syria. Adoption of the statement was preceded by intensive work by Russian and American experts. We also made use of the positive experience we accumulated over the course of cooperation in eliminating chemical weapons in Syria.
Our negotiators held several rounds of closed consultations. As a result, we were able to reach an important, specific result. It was agreed that the cessation of hostilities in Syria commences at 00:00 (Damascus time) on February 27, 2016 on terms and conditions that are a part of the Russian-American statement.
The essence of these conditions is as follows: by 12:00 pm on February 26, 2016, all parties warring in Syria must indicate to the Russian Federation or our American partners their commitment to the cessation of hostilities. Russian and American troops will jointly delineate the territories where these groups are active. No military action will be taken against them by the Armed Forces of the Syrian Arab Republic, Russian Armed Forces and the US-led coalition. In turn, the opposition will cease all military action against the Armed Forces of the Syrian Arab Republic and other groups supporting them.
ISIS, Jabhat Al-Nursa, and other terrorist organisations designated by the United Nations Security Council, are excluded from the cessation of hostilities. Strikes against them will continue.
It is fundamentally important that Russia and the US, as co-chairs of the ISSG, are prepared to launch effective mechanisms to promote and monitor compliance with the ceasefire by both the Syrian Government and the armed opposition groups.
To achieve this goal, we will establish a communication hotline and, if necessary, a working group to exchange relevant information. Russia will conduct the necessary work with Damascus and the legitimate Syrian leadership. We expect that the United States will do the same with regard to their allies and the groups they support.
I am sure that the joint actions agreed upon with the American side will be enough to radically reverse the crisis situation in Syria. We are finally seeing a real chance to bring an end to the long-standing bloodshed and violence. As a result, humanitarian access to all Syrian citizens in need should be made easier.
Most important is the creation of conditions for launching a long-term political process through a broad inter-Syrian dialogue in Geneva, under the auspices of the UN.
Unfortunately, recent history has many examples where one-sided actions not sanctioned by the UN, which favour short-term political or opportunistic interests, have led to dramatic results. These examples are on everyone’s lips: Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Yemen.
Against this background, Russian-American agreements on the cessation of hostilities in Syria, and their joint implementation in coordination with all nations participating in the International Syria Support Group, can become an example of responsible actions the global community takes against the threat of terrorism, which are based on international law and UN principles.
I would like to hope that the Syrian leadership and all our partners in the region and beyond will support the set of actions chosen by representatives of Russia and the US.
H.E. President Bashar Al-Assad declared Syria’s readiness for cessation of hostilities, but not with terrorist organization:
In an interview with the Spanish El Pais Newspaper, February 21, 2016, in reply to the following question:
Question 4: A truce was announced by Russia and the United States. Is the Syrian government willing to respect the cessation of military operations in Syria?
President Assad: Definitely, and we announced that we’re ready, but it’s not only about announcing, because maybe the other party will announce the same. It’s about what are you going to do on the ground. Ceasefire is about – if you want to say ceasefire, it’s not the correct word, because ceasefire is between two armies or two countries – it’s cessation of hostility, or, let’s say, stopping the operation, if you want to call it like this. It’s about, first of all, to stop the fire, but it’s about the other complimentary and more important factors, preventing the terrorists from using the ceasefire or the cessation of hostility in order to improve their position. It’s about preventing other countries, especially Turkey, from sending more recruits, more terrorists, more armaments, or any kind of logistical support to those terrorists, and you know there’s a United Nations resolution, or Security Council resolution, regarding this point that’s not implemented. If we don’t provide all these requirements for the ceasefire, it will be against, let’s say, the stability; it’s going to make more chaos in Syria, it may lead to de facto division of the country. That’s why if we want to use the ceasefire, it is positive providing these factors.
Question 5: So, there will be still some fighting even though there’s this ceasefire, at least against some of the armed groups?
President Assad: Yes, of course, like ISIS, like al-Nusra, and other organizations or terrorist groups that belong to Al Qaeda. Now, Syria and Russia announced four names: Ahrar al-Cham and Jaish al-Islam and al-Nusra and ISIS.
Question 6: Your forces have surrounded Aleppo. It’s one of the big strongholds of the opposition. When do you expect to fully regain control of that city?
President Assad: Actually, we are in the middle of the city, so, yes, a large part of the city is under the control of the government, and most of the inhabitants of the other parts emigrated from the militants-controlled area to the government-controlled area, so it’s not about recapturing the city. Actually, it’s about closing the roads between Turkey and between the terrorist groups. That is the aim of the battles in Aleppo now, and we succeeded recently, we could close the main roads. Of course, it’s not a complete seal, let’s say, between Aleppo and Turkey, but it makes the relation between Turkey and the terrorists much more difficult. That’s why Turkey is shelling the Kurds recently, for that reason.
President issued yester evening decree No. 63 which sets Wednesday, April 13th, 2016 as a date for electing members of the People’s Assembly (Parliament) for the 2nd legislative term.
The total number of the members is 250 which include different sectors of labors, peasants and other spectrums of the Syrian people distributed as the following seats:
Damascus 29,Damascus countryside 19, Aleppo 20, Aleppo countryside 32, Homs 23, Hama 22, Lattakia 17, Idleb 18, Tartous 13, Raqqa 8, Deir Ezzor 14, Hasaka 14, Daraa 10, Sweida 6 and Quneitra 5.
The Syrian Arab Republic Announces that it accepts a ceasefire in Syria based on the continuity of military efforts aiming to combat the terrorism of ISIL, Jabhet al-Nusra and their affiliated to groups and al-Qaeda in accordance with the announced Russian-American ceasefire plan, an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Tuesday.
According to the source, to guarantee the success of implementing the truce on the fixed time, which is February 27th, 2016, the Syrian government affirmed its readiness to keep coordinating with the Russian side as to specify the areas and the armed groups involved in this truce.
The source pointed out that the Syrian government reiterates the need for controlling the borders, stopping the support being provided by some countries to the terrorist groups and prevent the reinforcement of terrorists in order to avoid the failure of ceasefire agreement.
The Syrian government insists on its right to retaliate against any violation committed by the terrorist groups against the Syrian citizens or the Syrian army, the source said.
“By accepting the ceasefire plan, the Syrian government stresses its keenness on stopping bloodshed in Syria and on restoring security and stability to the country in achievement of the Syrians’ will to preservie Syria’s unity,” the source added.
Dr. Mohammad Abdo Al-Ibrahim
alibrahim56@hotmail.com
President Assad’s Interview with Spanish El Pais Newspaper, February 21, 2016.
A Message on the Events Going on in Syria
The Government Statement for Executing the Political Program for Solving the Crisis