Geneva (IINA) – The United States and Russia early Saturday announced a breakthrough agreement on Syria that foresees a nationwide ceasefire starting on Monday, followed a week later by an unlikely new military partnership targeting Daesh and al-Qaeda as well as new limits on President Bashar Assad’s forces, AP reported.
After a daylong final negotiating session in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the plan could reduce violence in Syria and lead to a long-sought political transition, ending more than five years of bloodshed. He described the deal as a potential “turning point” in a conflict that has killed as many as 500,000 people, if complied with by Syria’s Russian-backed government and US-supported rebel groups. The ceasefire begins at sundown September 12, Kerry said, coinciding with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
Kerry’s negotiating partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, confirmed the agreement and said it could help expand the counterterrorism fight and aid deliveries to Syrian civilians under UN auspices that have been stalled for weeks. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was informed of the accord, and prepared to comply.
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