Truce must stop Turkey’s support for militants: Assad

The advance by the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance has angered Turkey, which fears the Kurds are trying to unite several Kurdish-majority regions in north and northeast Syria to create a contiguous zone on the border. “It’s about what will be done on ground”, he said.

We need to be careful so we don’t get drawn into a major war supporting the wrong side due to the misdirected emotions of terrorist outrages.

He spoke Saturday in comments carried by the Syrian news agency SANA. It was turned down by France. Syrian army offensives continue unabated across the country, backed by Russian air strikes.

The Syrian opposition also said it had agreed to the “possibility” of a temporary truce, provided there were guarantees Damascus’ allies – including Russian Federation – would cease fire, sieges were lifted and aid deliveries were allowed countrywide. Faylaq al-Sham, a coalition of seven northern insurgency groups, said they would not drop their weapons until Assad was removed.

Russian Federation has fallen into “war of words” with western countries on Syrian issues, accusing each other of causing civilian casualties and bombing targets other than terrorists’.

Syria’s government and opposition have both said they are ready for a ceasefire, but with conditions.

“If the Syrian people want me to be in power, I will be”.

After having spoken with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov by telephone, Mr Kerry said: “We have reached a provisional agreement, in principle, on the terms of the cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days”.

Secretary Kerry also restated his deep concern over the indiscriminate nature of continued bombing by Russian military aircraft and the lives being lost as a result. Putin also discussed Syria with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, another leading backer of the rebels, in a phone conversation on Friday.

Delegates met Friday in Switzerland’s Geneva to talk about the decisions that members of ISSG had agreed last week, including what the cessation of hostilities for Syria would look like.

A statement from the High Negotiations Committee said, the opposition factions expressed agreement on the possibility of reaching a temporary truce deal, to be reached through worldwide mediation.

He called on the global community to find a new approach which holds Assad and Russian Federation to account after they spent “yet another week annihilating defenceless Syrians“.

US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The truce will not cover the Islamic State group, the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and any other militias designated as terrorist organizations by the U.N. Security Council.

The 17-nation International Syria Support Group agreed to form a Syria cease-fire task force under the auspices of the U.N. during a meeting in Munich on February 12.

Jordan is one of a handful of Arab states that have taken part in a U.S.-led air campaign against IS, which past year seized swaths of Iraq and Syria. The Nusra Front is considered a terrorist organisation by the United Nations security council.

Turkey’s U.N. Ambassador told reporters his country was exercising its right to self-defense and responding to fire from Syrian soil.