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U.S., Russia and other powers agree on ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria’s civil war U.S., Russia and other powers agree on ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria
(about 1 hour later)
MUNICH — The United States, Russia and other powers have reached agreement on a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war that allows for immediate humanitarian access to besieged areas, Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced here early Friday morning. MUNICH — The United States, Russia and other powers agreed to a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war, to take place within the next week, and immediate humanitarian access into besieged areas, Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced here early Friday morning.
The end of hostilities, which Kerry avoided calling a cease-fire, is scheduled to go into effect “in one week’s time,” Kerry said. Humanitarian access to towns and cities in Syria where food and medical supplies have been blocked, sometimes for months, is to begin immediately. “It was unanimous,” Kerry said of a communique issued after hours of meetings among participants in a group of nations that have supported and armed one side or the other in the four-year war. “Everybody today agreed,” he said. But the proof of commitment will only come with implementation. “What we have here are words on paper. What we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground.”
“It was unanimous,” Kerry said. “Everybody today agreed on the urgency of humanitarian access. What we have here are words on paper. What we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the projected date for ending at least some of his country’s airstrikes in Syria is a week from Friday, but he emphasized that “terrorist” groups would continue to be targeted, including the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, an affiliate of al-Qaeda’s in Syria that is involved in the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. The group in some instances fights alongside rebel forces supported by the United States and its allies.
Agreement came after day-long consultations that lasted until early Friday here. Hours earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov huddled with his counterpart from Iran, Russia’s ally in backing the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry sat down with allies backing the Syrian opposition, before all parties gathered for a joint meeting at which the deal was struck.
Lavrov called cessation of hostilities the “first step” toward a full cease-fire.
The effort has been considered a last chance to stop the carnage in Syria that has left hundreds of thousands dead and sent millions fleeing from the country. What was already a desperate situation in Syria has greatly worsened over the past few weeks, as massive Russian bombardment in and around the city of Aleppo has scattered opposition fighters and driven tens of thousands of civilians toward the barricaded Turkish border.
[Syrians stranded between airstrikes and locked border fence][Syrians stranded between airstrikes and locked border fence]
Participants said they had noted a new resolve in U.S. willingness to stand up to the Russians, who agreed in December to a U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire in conjunction with peace negotiations. The determination of eligible targets and geographic areas is to be left up to a task force of nations, headed by Russia and the United States, that will adjudicate differences of opinion. It is expected but by no means guaranteed that signatories to the agreement will be able to convince their proxies and allies on the ground, including Assad and the hundreds of opposition groups fighting against him, to honor the terms.
The administration has been under pressure from its allies to stop the flow into Europe of what are now nearly 1 million refugees. Partners in the Middle East have also openly despaired of what they see as declining U.S. leadership in the region. Kerry and Lavrov emphasized that the agreement is not perfect and will require goodwill and determination by all involved.
Beyond its recent appearance of allowing Russia to act with impunity, the administration has long resisted calls from regional partners to increase its relatively low level of military aid and training to opposition forces, even as President Obama insisted that Assad would have to step down. Failure of the Munich effort would have presented the administration with a decision on whether to reverse course and expand its assistance to the opposition. Lavrov also described a “qualitative” change in U.S. military policy to cooperate with Russia in jointly continuing the fight against the Islamic State. Until now, the Obama administration has declined to deal with Russia except to “deconflict” their airstrikes to avoid running into each other in Syrian skies.
Some diplomats here noted that the Russians may been more amenable now to an early cease-fire, since the airstrikes and Iran-aided ground operations have achieved their goal of regaining control for Assad over much of the country’s western population centers. This month’s bombing has driven opposition forces out of areas of Aleppo and the surrounding province they had occupied almost since the civil war began in earnest four years ago. “The key thing is to build direct contacts, not only on procedures to avoid incidents, but also cooperation between our militaries,” Lavrov said.
“Everybody’s calculations have shifted” following events of the past few weeks, one diplomat said. The diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the still-tentative plan and closed-door negotiations. Kerry said there had been no change in policy, but he said humanitarian and other agreed programs would require the ability “to talk about deployment of forces, the presence of people, who can go where, how they get there, and avoid conflict in ways that are effective” to implement the agreement.
Kerry met with Lavrov earlier in the day for nearly 90 minutes. “We’re going to have a serious conversation about all aspects about what’s happening in Syria,” he said before reporters were ushered out of the room. “Obviously, at some point in time,” he said, “we want to make progress on the issues of humanitarian access and cease-fire.” Lavrov described the cessation of hostilities as the “first step” toward a cease-fire, a more formal legal construct that can involve the turning in of arms and demobilization of forces. Instead, he described the immediate goal as more akin to a truce.
The plan, drafted by United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura, in consultation with Kerry and the Syrian opposition, assumes that Assad’s government, which is not represented here, would be pressed by Russia to agree. Parties to the talks said that the first relief drops could occur as early as this weekend. The immediate aim is that humanitarian relief begin as early as this weekend, with Russian airdrops to at least seven areas of Syria that cannot be easily reached by road. A second task force of countries, drawn from among the 17 that participated in the talks, will determine the “modalities” of allowing ground convoys of food and medicines to pass through government and opposition lines to reach dozens of other besieged communities.
Kerry and Lavrov acknowledged that they and other members of the group continue to disagree about many issues in Syria, including Assad’s future.
The Munich effort was seen as a last chance to stop carnage in Syria that has left hundreds of thousands dead and sent millions fleeing from the country. What was already a desperate situation in the country has greatly worsened over the past few weeks, as massive Russian bombardment in and around the city of Aleppo has scattered opposition fighters and driven tens of thousands of civilians toward the barricaded Turkish border.
Participants said they had noted a new U.S. willingness to stand up to the Russians, who agreed in December to a U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire in conjunction with peace talks.
The Obama administration has been under pressure from its allies to stop the flow into Europe of what are now about 1 million refugees. Partners in the Middle East have also openly despaired of what they see as declining U.S. leadership in the region.
Beyond its recent appearance of allowing Russia to act with impunity, the administration has long resisted calls from regional partners to increase its relatively low level of military aid and training to opposition forces, even as President Obama insisted that Assad would have to step down. A failure of the Munich effort would have presented the administration with a decision on whether to reverse course and expand its assistance to the opposition.
Some diplomats here noted that the Russians may be more amenable now to an early cease-fire, since the airstrikes and Iranian-aided ground operations have achieved their goal of regaining control for Assad over much of the country’s western population centers. This month’s Russian bombing has driven opposition forces out of areas of Aleppo and the surrounding province they had occupied almost since the civil war began in earnest four years ago.
“Everybody’s calculations have shifted” because of events of the past few weeks, one diplomat said. The diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations.
[U.S. official tours Syrian devastation][U.S. official tours Syrian devastation]
Opposition leaders had said they were optimistic after talks with Kerry and others. “We’ll wait two days and see if all the promises they made are kept,” Salem al-Meslet, spokesman for a negotiating team appointed by the Syrian opposition to open U.N.-sponsored talks with the government, said before the agreement was announced. “Hopefully, we’ll see something by Monday.” Opposition leaders said as the talks progressed Thursday that they were optimistic after meeting with Kerry and others. “We’ll wait two days and see if all the promises they made are kept,” Salem al-Meslet, the spokesman for a negotiating team appointed by the Syrian opposition to open U.N.-sponsored talks with the government, said before the agreement was announced. “Hopefully, we’ll see something by Monday.”
Meslet said the opposition would return to talks with the government if the plan is implemented. But, he said, “we have to see something — food go to children who are starving to death. Then we’ll go sit at the same table” with the government. U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura said he anticipated an early resumption of talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. Meslet said the opposition would return to talks if the new plan is implemented. But, he said, “we have to see something — food [must] go to children who are starving to death. Then we’ll go sit at the same table” with the government.
“I can’t stop Putin,” he said of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Can you say no to Putin?” he said, referring to the United States and its allies. “I can’t stop [Vladimir] Putin,” he said of the Russian president. “Can you say no to Putin?” he said, referring to the United States and its allies.
The initial session of the negotiations was suspended last week after the opposition protested the lack of humanitarian access and that escalated Russian airstrikes near Aleppo. The initial session of the negotiations was suspended last week after the opposition protested the lack of humanitarian access to besieged areas as well as Russia’s stepped-up airstrikes near Aleppo.
Under the draft plan as it stood early Thursday, Russia would take responsibility for humanitarian airdrops, avoiding potential problems of U.S. or allied military aircraft flying over combat zones in sovereign Syrian territory. Although the United States and its allies have conducted thousands of airstrikes over Syria in the past 18 months, all have targeted the Islamic State in areas beyond the government’s control, and with its tacit acceptance. The Munich meeting, the fourth the group has held, was initially intended to bless and monitor talks that were supposed to start early this month. Instead, it turned into an emergency session to put the process back on track.
Under the agreement as initially drafted, two committees would be formed of the 17 countries that are part of the so-called International Syrian Support Group, or ISSG, formed in November at Kerry’s urging. The group, including Russia and Iran in addition to U.S. allies in Europe and the region surrounding Syria, developed a formula for peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition, with a U.N. resolution mandating its terms for a cease-fire, formation of a transition government and eventual negotiations.
The Munich meeting, the fourth the group has held, was initially intended to bless and monitor talks that were supposed to start early this month. Instead, it has turned into an emergency session to put the process back on track.
[Kerry struggles over Syria][Kerry struggles over Syria]
One of the new committees would monitor humanitarian access and deliveries, troubleshooting and adjudicating claims of interference. The second committee would monitor the cease-fire. Details of what some diplomats called a less-formal “cessation of hostilities” have still not been firmed up. Although isolated, small-scale fighting is likely to continue, the deal would ideally stop the use of heavy weapons, including tanks and antitank missiles. The United States and its partners would continue the current level of equipping and training the opposition so as not to leave the rebels at a disadvantage if the cease-fire collapses. Russia presumably would continue its support for the Syrian government.
The goal is to ensure that charges of violations would be directed to the committee, rather than responded to in kind. Any fighting group that signed on to and complied with a cease-fire would be exempt from airstrikes. It presumes that the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, considered by all parties to be terrorist groups, would not participate. Opposition groups embedded with al-Nusra in the anti-Assad fight would have to decide whether to sever those links and separate themselves geographically from the militants. Despite the diplomatic talks here, combat both real and verbal continued Thursday. Russia’s Defense Ministry was defiant about Moscow’s intervention in Syria, saying it would not yield to Western entreaties to stop an effort that has given Assad powerful momentum on the battlefield.
Although isolated, small-scale fighting is likely to continue, the deal would ideally stop the use of heavy weapons, including tanks and antitank missiles. The United States and its partners would continue the current level of opposition training and equipping, so as not to leave the rebels at a disadvantage if the cease-fire collapses. Russia would presumably continue its support for the Syrian government.
Despite the diplomatic talks here, both real and verbal combat continued Thursday. Russia’s Defense Ministry was defiant about its intervention in Syria, saying it would not yield to Western entreaties to stop an effort that has given Assad powerful momentum on the battlefield.
[NATO to confront human-smuggling networks in Aegean][NATO to confront human-smuggling networks in Aegean]
Western efforts at “political transitions” led to bloodshed and refugees, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters in Moscow. He gave no indication that Russia plans to stop its combat air missions any time soon. Western efforts at “political transitions” led to bloodshed and refugees, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters in Moscow. He gave no indication that Russia plans to stop its combat air missions anytime soon.
Konashenkov denied that Russia was bombing civilians, saying that “no matter how long one baits terrorists, they will not become opposition members.”Konashenkov denied that Russia was bombing civilians, saying that “no matter how long one baits terrorists, they will not become opposition members.”
Responding to a charge Wednesday from Col. Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesmen for coalition operations in Iraq and Syria, that Russian planes had bombed two hospitals in Aleppo, Konashenkov said two U.S. planes were actually responsible. Responding to a charge Wednesday from Col. Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for coalition operations in Iraq and Syria, that Russian planes had bombed two hospitals in Aleppo, Konashenkov said two U.S. planes were in fact responsible.
“There were no coalition airstrikes in or near Aleppo on Wednesday, Feb 10. Any claim that the coalition had aircraft in the area is a fabrication,” Warren countered on Thursday. “There were no coalition airstrikes in or near Aleppo on Wednesday, February 10,” Warren countered on Thursday. “Any claim that the coalition had aircraft in the area is a fabrication.”
Michael Birnbaum in Moscow, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Griff Witte in Brussels and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.Michael Birnbaum in Moscow, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Griff Witte in Brussels and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.