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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/feb/12/syria-ceasefire-agreed-munich-peace-talks-live
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| Version 21 | Version 22 |
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| Syria: cessation of hostilities 'within a week' agreed at Munich talks – as it happened | Syria: cessation of hostilities 'within a week' agreed at Munich talks – as it happened |
| (7 months later) | |
| 1.15pm GMT | 1.15pm GMT |
| 13:15 | 13:15 |
| That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. They’ll be much more on the Syria section of the Guardian’s site. | That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. They’ll be much more on the Syria section of the Guardian’s site. |
| 1.06pm GMT | 1.06pm GMT |
| 13:06 | 13:06 |
| “The biggest winner in this dangerous game is extremism,” says Lina Khatib a senior research associate with the Arab Reform Initiative. Writing on Guardian Opinion she says: | “The biggest winner in this dangerous game is extremism,” says Lina Khatib a senior research associate with the Arab Reform Initiative. Writing on Guardian Opinion she says: |
| Caught between the regime and its allies on one side and Isis on the other, and without adequate means to resist the Russian air campaign, many fighters are effectively being pushed to form an alliance of convenience with Isis and other such extremist groups. | Caught between the regime and its allies on one side and Isis on the other, and without adequate means to resist the Russian air campaign, many fighters are effectively being pushed to form an alliance of convenience with Isis and other such extremist groups. |
| If this happens the strategy of the Syrian regime and Russia will have prevailed, as Syria will be left with two main groups: the regime and extremists. Russia and the regime can then appeal to the international community on the basis of fighting terrorism. | If this happens the strategy of the Syrian regime and Russia will have prevailed, as Syria will be left with two main groups: the regime and extremists. Russia and the regime can then appeal to the international community on the basis of fighting terrorism. |
| But by then, no degree of foreign support will be enough to eradicate extremists in Syria. As the Iraqi experience has shown, it is only through working with the local Sunni population that extremist jihadist groups such as Isis can be weakened. Ramadi could only be taken back from Isis after Iraq’s Sunni population got involved in fighting it alongside the army. If most of Syria’s Sunni community carries grievances against the ruling regime, Isis will continue to exist. | But by then, no degree of foreign support will be enough to eradicate extremists in Syria. As the Iraqi experience has shown, it is only through working with the local Sunni population that extremist jihadist groups such as Isis can be weakened. Ramadi could only be taken back from Isis after Iraq’s Sunni population got involved in fighting it alongside the army. If most of Syria’s Sunni community carries grievances against the ruling regime, Isis will continue to exist. |
| 12.18pm GMT | 12.18pm GMT |
| 12:18 | 12:18 |
| Martin Chulov | Martin Chulov |
| The few opposition groups that remain inside Aleppo say there will be little left to fight for by the time the cessation of hostilities deal is due to come into force, writes Martin Chulov. | The few opposition groups that remain inside Aleppo say there will be little left to fight for by the time the cessation of hostilities deal is due to come into force, writes Martin Chulov. |
| In any event, there is little faith within an exhausted opposition that world powers can orchestrate a political outcome while military muscle is prevailing. | In any event, there is little faith within an exhausted opposition that world powers can orchestrate a political outcome while military muscle is prevailing. |
| “The regime is advancing quite quickly,” said Bahar al-Halabi, a Free Syria army member inside Aleppo. “It is an obvious collaboration between the regime, the Kurds and the Russians. Now we have to fight three giants at the same time. We have very little left. Nothing can change things now. I can’t lie and say that the position of the FSA is strong. | “The regime is advancing quite quickly,” said Bahar al-Halabi, a Free Syria army member inside Aleppo. “It is an obvious collaboration between the regime, the Kurds and the Russians. Now we have to fight three giants at the same time. We have very little left. Nothing can change things now. I can’t lie and say that the position of the FSA is strong. |
| “The regime is not interested in a political solution unless they get everything they want on the ground. They might agree to a ceasefire, but they will use it to surround us.” | “The regime is not interested in a political solution unless they get everything they want on the ground. They might agree to a ceasefire, but they will use it to surround us.” |
| All those who fled Aleppo and made it to Turkey spoke of a sense of defeat and abandonment. “We have been warning of this day for two years,” said Ahmed Othman, another new arrival in the camp, one hour south of the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. “No one listened. And that’s because no one cared.” | All those who fled Aleppo and made it to Turkey spoke of a sense of defeat and abandonment. “We have been warning of this day for two years,” said Ahmed Othman, another new arrival in the camp, one hour south of the Turkish city of Sanliurfa. “No one listened. And that’s because no one cared.” |
| Khaled and her family started their journey last Monday, first leaving the old city of Aleppo, then driving past the citadel, which had withstood 3,000 years of war and insurrection but now teeters under the strain of this withering war. | Khaled and her family started their journey last Monday, first leaving the old city of Aleppo, then driving past the citadel, which had withstood 3,000 years of war and insurrection but now teeters under the strain of this withering war. |
| 12.13pm GMT | 12.13pm GMT |
| 12:13 | 12:13 |
| Here’s a summary of what we know so far: | Here’s a summary of what we know so far: |
| 12.06pm GMT | 12.06pm GMT |
| 12:06 | 12:06 |
| Nato accuses Russia of undermining peaceful solution | Nato accuses Russia of undermining peaceful solution |
| Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general, urged Russia to target its airstrikes away from Syrian opposition groups and towards the Islamic State militants. | Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general, urged Russia to target its airstrikes away from Syrian opposition groups and towards the Islamic State militants. |
| Talking to reporters in Munich he said: “We will welcome a more constructive role by Russian in the fight against Isil. So far Russian has mainly targeted opposition groups, not Isil. The intense airstrikes of Russian planes against different opposition groups in Syria has actually undermined the efforts to reach a peaceful solution.” | Talking to reporters in Munich he said: “We will welcome a more constructive role by Russian in the fight against Isil. So far Russian has mainly targeted opposition groups, not Isil. The intense airstrikes of Russian planes against different opposition groups in Syria has actually undermined the efforts to reach a peaceful solution.” |
| Stoltenberg welcomed the agreement but added the “important thing now is implementation”. He pointed out that the fight against Islamic State militants would continue: “We have to stay focused on the fight against Isil, our common enemy.” | Stoltenberg welcomed the agreement but added the “important thing now is implementation”. He pointed out that the fight against Islamic State militants would continue: “We have to stay focused on the fight against Isil, our common enemy.” |
| 11.42am GMT | 11.42am GMT |
| 11:42 | 11:42 |
| US Defence Secretary Ash Carter says the United Arab Emirates has agreed to send special forces soldiers to Syria to help local rebel forces recapture Raqqa from the the Islamic State group’s capital, AP reports. | US Defence Secretary Ash Carter says the United Arab Emirates has agreed to send special forces soldiers to Syria to help local rebel forces recapture Raqqa from the the Islamic State group’s capital, AP reports. |
| Speaking in Brussels after meeting his counterpart from the UAE, Carter declined to say how many Emirati special forces would go to Syria. He said they would be part of an effort led by the United States and bolstered by Saudi special forces to train and enable local Arab fighters who are motivated to recapture Raqqa. Carter also told reporters that however the proposed suspension of Syrian civil war hostilities is implemented, as announced in Munich, the US will continue combating IS in Syria. | Speaking in Brussels after meeting his counterpart from the UAE, Carter declined to say how many Emirati special forces would go to Syria. He said they would be part of an effort led by the United States and bolstered by Saudi special forces to train and enable local Arab fighters who are motivated to recapture Raqqa. Carter also told reporters that however the proposed suspension of Syrian civil war hostilities is implemented, as announced in Munich, the US will continue combating IS in Syria. |
| “There is no cease-fire in the war against ISIL,” Carter said. “Let’s be clear about that.” | “There is no cease-fire in the war against ISIL,” Carter said. “Let’s be clear about that.” |
| 10.49am GMT | 10.49am GMT |
| 10:49 | 10:49 |
| Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council who will chair a UN meeting in Geneva on humanitarian access to Syria later today, said the agreement could be a breakthrough if pressure is put on the warring sides. | Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council who will chair a UN meeting in Geneva on humanitarian access to Syria later today, said the agreement could be a breakthrough if pressure is put on the warring sides. |
| In a statement, the former UN official and Norwegian foreign minister, said: | In a statement, the former UN official and Norwegian foreign minister, said: |
| “We have high hopes that the parties in the International Syria Support Group, including Russia and the United States, will do everything they can to push for humanitarian access to civilians in need inside Syria. We need sustained and full access. | “We have high hopes that the parties in the International Syria Support Group, including Russia and the United States, will do everything they can to push for humanitarian access to civilians in need inside Syria. We need sustained and full access. |
| “This could be the breakthrough we have been waiting for to get full access to desperate civilians inside Syria. But it requires that all those with influence on all sides of the conflict are putting pressure the parties.” | “This could be the breakthrough we have been waiting for to get full access to desperate civilians inside Syria. But it requires that all those with influence on all sides of the conflict are putting pressure the parties.” |
| 10.45am GMT | 10.45am GMT |
| 10:45 | 10:45 |
| David Miliband, head of the US based International Rescue Committee, called for more urgency in securing humanitarian access to the besieged areas. | David Miliband, head of the US based International Rescue Committee, called for more urgency in securing humanitarian access to the besieged areas. |
| Britain’s former foreign secretary, who backs the the imposition of safe zones in Syria, said: | Britain’s former foreign secretary, who backs the the imposition of safe zones in Syria, said: |
| “You don’t wait a week for an emergency operation and the people of Syria should not have to wait a week for relief from bombings. The agreement needs detail and urgency to offer hope to the people suffering sieges inside Syria. Syria has been a war without law as well as a war without end. We wait with eager anticipation to see whether this agreement is a turning point or a false dawn.” | “You don’t wait a week for an emergency operation and the people of Syria should not have to wait a week for relief from bombings. The agreement needs detail and urgency to offer hope to the people suffering sieges inside Syria. Syria has been a war without law as well as a war without end. We wait with eager anticipation to see whether this agreement is a turning point or a false dawn.” |
| 10.30am GMT | 10.30am GMT |
| 10:30 | 10:30 |
| Kareem Shaheen | Kareem Shaheen |
| One of the “moderate” rebel groups backed by the West is sceptical about the deal. | One of the “moderate” rebel groups backed by the West is sceptical about the deal. |
| The Southern Front, an alliance of opposition fighters operating in southern Syria who have come under intense bombardment by the Russians in recent weeks and months, said: | The Southern Front, an alliance of opposition fighters operating in southern Syria who have come under intense bombardment by the Russians in recent weeks and months, said: |
| “We greet this announcement with tentative optimism. Anything which ensures the full implementations of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is welcome. However we are sceptical that Russia will hold to these commitments when its current policy it to indiscriminately bomb all parties in Syria into the dust, in particular civilians and moderate opposition, and with complete impunity, while saying they are bombing terrorists. We are waiting for real action, we have now lost faith in words without real action.” | “We greet this announcement with tentative optimism. Anything which ensures the full implementations of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is welcome. However we are sceptical that Russia will hold to these commitments when its current policy it to indiscriminately bomb all parties in Syria into the dust, in particular civilians and moderate opposition, and with complete impunity, while saying they are bombing terrorists. We are waiting for real action, we have now lost faith in words without real action.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.31am GMT | at 10.31am GMT |
| 10.23am GMT | 10.23am GMT |
| 10:23 | 10:23 |
| James Sadri, director of the Syria Campaign, a network aimed at protecting civilians, said excluding Russian airstrikes from the agreement is “absurd”. | James Sadri, director of the Syria Campaign, a network aimed at protecting civilians, said excluding Russian airstrikes from the agreement is “absurd”. |
| He said: “This year Russia has become the number one killer of civilians in Syria, killing more than the Assad regime, al-Qaida and Isis combined. If this proposed ceasefire doesn’t stop Russian warplanes from bombing hospitals and schools, then the US and others shouldn’t pretend it’s a ceasefire.” | He said: “This year Russia has become the number one killer of civilians in Syria, killing more than the Assad regime, al-Qaida and Isis combined. If this proposed ceasefire doesn’t stop Russian warplanes from bombing hospitals and schools, then the US and others shouldn’t pretend it’s a ceasefire.” |
| On humanitarian access he said: “Using starvation as a weapon is a war crime. If this agreement means the end of sieges in Syria it will be welcome. But don’t expect celebration on the ground, because the lives of too many Syrian civilians have been ignored and too many people have been starved to death.” | On humanitarian access he said: “Using starvation as a weapon is a war crime. If this agreement means the end of sieges in Syria it will be welcome. But don’t expect celebration on the ground, because the lives of too many Syrian civilians have been ignored and too many people have been starved to death.” |
| 10.11am GMT | 10.11am GMT |
| 10:11 | 10:11 |
| The US State Department has released the full text of Kerry and Lavrov’s press conference on the deal. | The US State Department has released the full text of Kerry and Lavrov’s press conference on the deal. |
| Here’s Kerry on the distinction between a ceasefire and “cessation of hostilities”. | Here’s Kerry on the distinction between a ceasefire and “cessation of hostilities”. |
| So a ceasefire has a great many legal prerogatives and requirements. A cessation of hostilities does not – is not anticipated to, but in many ways, they have a similar effect. A ceasefire in the minds of many of the participants in this particular moment connotes something far more permanent and far more reflective of sort of an end of conflict, if you will. And it is distinctly not that. This is a pause that is dependent on the process going forward, and therefore cessation of hostilities is a much more appropriate, apt term. But the effect of ending hostile actions, the effect of ending offensive actions and permitting only defensive actions that are a matter of self-defense is the same in that regard. | So a ceasefire has a great many legal prerogatives and requirements. A cessation of hostilities does not – is not anticipated to, but in many ways, they have a similar effect. A ceasefire in the minds of many of the participants in this particular moment connotes something far more permanent and far more reflective of sort of an end of conflict, if you will. And it is distinctly not that. This is a pause that is dependent on the process going forward, and therefore cessation of hostilities is a much more appropriate, apt term. But the effect of ending hostile actions, the effect of ending offensive actions and permitting only defensive actions that are a matter of self-defense is the same in that regard. |
| Asked about Russian airstrikes he said: | Asked about Russian airstrikes he said: |
| It is true that the bombing of the last weeks and the aggressive actions of the Assad regime, together with the forces from other places and countries that have helped them has made a difference for Assad. There is no question about that. But that difference doesn’t end the war. That difference does not mean that Assad is secure or safe for the long term. It does not mean that Syria is free from the scourge of terrorist activity by Daesh and others, al-Nusrah and others. And it does not mean that the war is able to end at any time in the foreseeable future. So while, yes, there are some advantages, they are not advantages that turn this on its ear. This is still a very complicated conflict with long-term implications, with increasing levels of violence, with increasing numbers of refugees, with increasing numbers of terrorists. And it is our belief that the more successful Assad is in securing territory against the opposition, the more successful he is in creating more terrorists who threaten the region. | It is true that the bombing of the last weeks and the aggressive actions of the Assad regime, together with the forces from other places and countries that have helped them has made a difference for Assad. There is no question about that. But that difference doesn’t end the war. That difference does not mean that Assad is secure or safe for the long term. It does not mean that Syria is free from the scourge of terrorist activity by Daesh and others, al-Nusrah and others. And it does not mean that the war is able to end at any time in the foreseeable future. So while, yes, there are some advantages, they are not advantages that turn this on its ear. This is still a very complicated conflict with long-term implications, with increasing levels of violence, with increasing numbers of refugees, with increasing numbers of terrorists. And it is our belief that the more successful Assad is in securing territory against the opposition, the more successful he is in creating more terrorists who threaten the region. |
| So we have a fundamental task ahead of us, which hopefully this process can shed some light on as to how we are going to be able to resolve the conflict of one war, which is the war against Assad, and also resolve the other war, which is the war against the terrorists, and particularly Daesh. No small undertaking, but very much front and center in all of our thinking, and in the political process that we are trying to create to find a peaceful resolution. | So we have a fundamental task ahead of us, which hopefully this process can shed some light on as to how we are going to be able to resolve the conflict of one war, which is the war against Assad, and also resolve the other war, which is the war against the terrorists, and particularly Daesh. No small undertaking, but very much front and center in all of our thinking, and in the political process that we are trying to create to find a peaceful resolution. |
| Lavrov denied that Russia had targeted civilians in airstrikes around Aleppo. He accused humanitarian agencies who had made such claims of lying and pointed out that the UN had not made such claims despite reports in the British media. | Lavrov denied that Russia had targeted civilians in airstrikes around Aleppo. He accused humanitarian agencies who had made such claims of lying and pointed out that the UN had not made such claims despite reports in the British media. |