Syrian army: Cease-fire to begin across Syria at midnight

By Louisa Loveluck and Andrew Roth

The Washington Post

A cease-fire will take effect across much of Syria from midnight Thursday, the Syrian army announced.

In a statement posted to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the military declared a “comprehensive” cessation of hostilities following “victories and advances” by Syria’s armed forces.

But it said the deal excluded “terrorist organizations” including the country’s al-Qaida affiliate, now a key component of what remains of Syria’s armed opposition. The caveat suggested that the fighting could continue in key swaths of the country.

The rebels’ most important stronghold, east Aleppo, fell earlier this month to a coalition of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. That victory is likely to be seen as a milestone in Syria’s five-and-a-half-year war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Assad’s most important backers, announced earlier Thursday that agreements on a cease-fire have been reached with the Syrian government, certain Syrian rebel groups, Iran and Turkey. Notably absent from the peace process was the United States.

Speaking at a televised meeting with his defense and foreign ministers Thursday, Putin said three documents were signed: a cease-fire to begin Friday between the Syrian government and certain rebel groups, an agreement on monitoring the cease-fire and a statement of readiness to begin peace talks. Turkey and Russia would act as guarantors of the cease-fire, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not mention President Barack Obama in his remarks, instead inviting the incoming Trump administration to join the process after the president-elect’s inauguration.

“I would also like to express my hope that when the administration of Donald Trump assumes its responsibilities, they may also join these efforts in order to work toward this goal in a friendly and collective manner,” Lavrov said during the meeting.

According to a partial transcript of the meeting with Putin, Shoigu also said that Russia was ready to begin drawing down its deployment in Syria, which consists of several dozen fixed-wing aircraft, along with helicopters, ships and special forces soldiers.

“All conditions have been created for the reduction of the Russian group in Syria,” Shoigu said, without elaborating on how large the force reduction could be or which forces may be withdrawn.

The Russian government did not say which opposition groups have joined the cease-fire. Shoigu said negotiations were held with rebel forces through Turkish mediation over a period of two months. He said seven opposition groups with a combined 60,000 fighters from central and northern Syria have agreed to the cease-fire.

Numerous attempts to broker Syrian cease-fires in the past have failed to stop the fighting for long. A partial cease-fire announced by the United States and Russia in February soon unraveled and was over by July. Another U.S.-Russian deal in September lasted a week.

Putin, in his televised remarks, offered some caveats about the latest agreements, calling them “fragile and requiring special attention.” But the deals marked an ambitious venture by the Russian leader to establish his dominant role as dealmaker in the Syrian conflict and further sideline the United States less than a month before Trump’s inauguration.

Syria’s National Coalition, a leading political opposition group based in Turkey, confirmed its support for the truce, according to Agence France-Presse.

“The National Coalition expresses support for the agreement and urges all parties to abide by it,” spokesman Ahmed Ramadan told AFP.

He said key rebel groups including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham and Army of Islam factions have signed the cease-fire deal, though there was no immediate confirmation from rebel officials.

The effort still has to survive the many potential pitfalls of a shaky alliance. But if Putin’s gambit to play peacemaker among the bitter regional rivals of the Middle East is successful, it would mark his greatest international achievement to date. To broker a solution to the region’s bloodiest conflict while pointedly excluding the United States would mark an important shift in the international balance of power – one that Putin has called for publicly since he took power in 2000.