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| Syria civil war: World powers agree 'cessation of hostilities' and expansion of humanitarian aid | Syria civil war: World powers agree 'cessation of hostilities' and expansion of humanitarian aid |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that an international meeting in Munich on the Syria crisis had agreed to implement a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria in one week's time and to immediately expand delivery of humanitarian aid. | |
| Mr Kerry, speaking after marathon talks that included Russia and more than a dozen other countries, said that all nations involved in the talks agreed that Syrian peace negotiations should resume in Geneva as soon as possible. | |
| Mr Kerry, flanked by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, acknowledged that the meeting produced commitments on paper only. He and Lavrov agreed that the “real test” will be whether all parties to the Syrian conflict honor those commitments. | Mr Kerry, flanked by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, acknowledged that the meeting produced commitments on paper only. He and Lavrov agreed that the “real test” will be whether all parties to the Syrian conflict honor those commitments. |
| British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said a cessation of hostilities in Syria can only succeed if Russia stops air strikes supporting Syrian government forces' advance against the opposition. | |
| “If implemented fully and properly... , this (deal) will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria,” Mr Hammond said in a statement. | |
| “But it will only succeed if there is a major change of behaviour by the Syrian regime and its supporters. | |
| “Russia, in particular, claims to be attacking terrorist groups and yet consistently bombs non-extremist groups including civilians. If this agreement is to work, this bombing will have to stop: no cessation of hostilities will last if moderate opposition groups continue to be targeted.” | |
| On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, raised the spectre 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 Isis militants. | |
| The first peace talks in two years between belligerents in Syria collapsed last week before they began in the face an the offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, one of the biggest and most consequential of the five-year war. | |
| Ministers at the Munich 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. | |
| Reuters | Reuters |