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| Syrian women shop at the popular Hamidiyeh old market in Damascus , Syria, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016. |
DAMASCUS,
Syria (AP) -- The United States and Russia have agreed on a new
cease-fire for Syria that will take effect Saturday, even as major
questions over enforcing and responding to violations of the truce were
left unresolved. Syria's warring government and rebels still need to
accept the deal.
The timeline for a hoped-for
breakthrough comes after the former Cold War foes, backing opposing
sides in the conflict, said they finalized the details of a "cessation
of hostilities" between President Bashar Assad's government and armed
opposition groups after five years of violence that has killed more than
250,000 people.
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. But where in Syria the fighting must stop and where
counterterrorism operations can continue must still be addressed. And
the five-page plan released by the U.S. State Department leaves open how
breaches of the cease-fire will be identified or punished.
The
announcement came after Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin
spoke by telephone Monday, capping weeks of intense diplomacy to stem
the violence so that Assad's government and "moderate" rebel forces
might return to peace talks in Geneva. A first round of indirect
discussions collapsed almost immediately this month amid a massive
government offensive backed by Russian airstrikes in northern Syria.
Obama
welcomed the agreement in the call with Putin, which the White House
said was arranged at Russia's request. The White House said Obama
emphasized the key is to ensure that Syria's government and opposition
groups faithfully implement the deal.
"This is
going to be difficult to implement," said White House spokesman Josh
Earnest. "We know there are a lot of obstacles, and there are sure to be
some setbacks."
Putin called the agreement a
"last real chance to put an end to the many years of bloodshed and
violence." Speaking on Russian television, he said Moscow would work
with the Syrian government, and expects Washington to do the same with
the opposition groups that it supports.
U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the agreement, calling it "a
long-awaited signal of hope to the Syrian people." But he warned that
much work lies ahead for its implementation.
Hours
after the agreement was announced, Assad issued a decree setting
parliamentary elections for April 13. A U.N. Security Council resolution
adopted in December calls for parliamentary and presidential elections
to be held during an 18-month transition period that would end the
5-year-old conflict in Syria. However, the country was due for
parliament elections anyway, as the current parliament's four-year term
expires in May.
The leader of a Saudi-backed
Syrian opposition alliance, meanwhile, said in a statement that rebel
factions had agreed "in principle" to an internationally mediated
temporary truce. Riad Hijab did not elaborate but urged Russia, Iran and
the Assad government to end attacks, lift blockades and release
prisoners held in Syria.
Syrian officials said
the government was ready to take part in a truce as long as it is not
used by militants to reinforce their positions.
Both sides have until Friday to formally accept the plan.
Even if the cease-fire takes hold, fighting will by no means halt.
Russia
will surely press on with an air campaign that it insists is targeting
terrorists but which the U.S. and its partners say is mainly killing
moderate rebels and civilians. While IS tries to expand its
self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and neighboring Iraq, Nusra is
unlikely to end its effort to overthrow Assad. The Kurds have been
fighting IS, even as they face attacks from America's NATO ally, Turkey.
And Assad has his own history of broken promises when it comes to
military action.
All of these dynamics make the truce hard to maintain.
"We
are all aware of the significant challenges ahead," U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry said. "Over the coming days, we will be working to
secure commitments from key parties that they will abide by the terms."
Kerry
said the cessation could lead to less violence, expanded humanitarian
deliveries and help support the U.S. goal of a "political transition to a
government that is responsive to the desires of the Syrian people."
Like previous U.S.-Russian statements, however, Monday's document says
nothing about Assad's future - perhaps the biggest stumbling block to a
sustained peace.
The plan largely follows the
blueprint set by Washington, Moscow and 15 other countries at a
conference in Germany earlier this month. That agreement called for a
truce by Feb. 19, a deadline that was missed.
Beyond
the new cease-fire date, the agreement sets up a "communications
hotline" and, if needed, a working group to promote and monitor the
truce. Violations are to be addressed by the working group with an eye
toward restoring compliance and cooling tensions. The deal also calls
for "non-forcible means" to be exhausted before other means are pursued
for punishing transgressors.
Any party can report violations to the working group being co-chaired by the U.S. and Russia.
The two countries also will share "pertinent information" about territory held by rebels accepting the truce.
Russia
has pushed for broad coordination. Putin apparently hopes that engaging
the U.S. in military-to-military cooperation in Syria could help ease
the strain in relations and also cast Moscow as a power equaling
Washington.
The timing of the cease-fire is
only days ahead of Moscow's proposal earlier this month for it to start
on March 1. Washington rejected that offer at the time, saying it wanted
an "immediate cease-fire" and not one that would allow Syria and its
Russian backer to make a last-ditch effort for territorial gains in the
Arab country's north and south.
While
negotiations dragged, however, Russian airstrikes pummeled areas in and
around Aleppo, Syria's largest city, and Assad's military made
significant gains.
Inside the Hamidiyeh Souk, a
popular Damascus bazaar, people expressed worries that a cease-fire
wouldn't be evenly observed, leaving Syrian authorities vulnerable.
"I
hope there will be no cease-fire, because if there is a cease-fire,
Turks will increase their support for
criminals and traitors," said
Ahmad al-Omar, who is from Aleppo province in the north, adding that
Turkey may let opposition fighters in through its border with Syria. The
Associated Press reported from the bazaar on a government-approved
visit.
But rebels who engage in violence could
see their Western support cut off. In recent days, U.S. officials have
spoken about the cease-fire being a "self-policing" mechanism. If a
group fights Assad's military, according to this logic, it essentially
aligns itself with militants considered to be terrorists and can then be
attacked.
That has the opposition concerned about Assad or Russia trying to provoke it into acts of self-defense.
The
conflict began with violent government repression of largely peaceful
protests in 2011 but quickly became a full-blown rebellion against Assad
and a proxy battle between his Shiite-backed government and
Sunni-supported rebels. A U.S.-led coalition is only attacking the
Islamic State and other extremist groups, not Assad's military.
The
Syrian government's supply route by land to the city of Aleppo was cut
by heavy fighting Monday as the army, supported by allied militias and
the Russian air force, fought to consolidate its recent gains. They are
trying to seal the border with Turkey, a key supporter of the rebels,
before a truce is reached.
