BEIRUT, Lebanon — Russia, Iran and Turkey signed a memorandum on Thursday to create four “de-escalation zones” in Syria, to reduce bloodshed in a war now in its seventh year, but many questions remained about the plan.

Presented at talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, the memorandum was the most ambitious of recent proposals, but it was not signed by the Syrian rebels or government. Rebel representatives said it left too many loopholes for the Syrian military to continue what the rebels called indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas.

The memorandum calls for a pause in fighting, including government airstrikes, and for unhindered aid deliveries in and around the four main zones still held by rebels unaffiliated with the Islamic State. It also calls for all parties to fight jihadists like the Islamic State and the Qaeda-linked group once known as the Nusra Front.

The top United Nations envoy dealing with Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called the memorandum an “important, promising, positive step in the right direction.” </s> ASTANA
• Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel supporter Turkey, yesterday signed a memorandum on a Moscow-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria to bolster a fragile truce.

However, a member of the rebel delegation left the room where the peace talks were being held in the Kazakh capital Astana, shouting against Iran.

The Syrian government and rebel delegations are not signatories.

The Kremlin has been touting a plan to create safe zones in Syria that are aimed at "further pacification and cessation of hostilities".

"Over the past two days, the participants in the Astana talks reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities," Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said of a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara in December.

Over the past two days, the participants in the Astana talks reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities. As a result, the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria. KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER KAIRAT ABDRAKHMANOV, on a frail truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara in December.

"As a result, the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria."

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the agreement to create safe zones will cover all of Idlib province, as well as parts of Aleppo, Latakia and Homs. It said the deal would ban all use of weapons in those areas.

The aim is to "put an immediate end to the violence" and "provide the conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees", as well as the immediate delivery of relief supplies and medical aid, said a copy of the draft document that was seen by Agence France-Presse.

But issues, including which countries could police any safe zones, remain unclear.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks.

Syrian rebels said earlier yesterday that they had resumed participation in the talks after having suspended their involvement a day earlier over air strikes against civilians.

After talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Mr Putin said the safe zones were meant to lead to "further pacification and cessation of hostilities". He also said the proposed zones would be no-fly areas if fighting on the ground there stopped entirely.

The Kremlin's plan echoes calls by United States President Donald Trump to establish safe zones in Syria.

Mr Putin said on Wednesday that "as far as I could tell", the US leader broadly supported the idea in a phone call they held on Tuesday.

Mr Erdogan said in comments published yesterday that Moscow's plan to set up these zones in Syria would "50 per cent" solve the six-year conflict.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Mr Abdrakhmanov said the next Syria peace talks would be held in Astana in mid-July. </s> Wide parts of Syria have enjoyed relative calm despite sporadic clashes after a deal to set up "de-escalation zones" mostly within opposition-controlled areas went into effect, opposition activists and government media outlets said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties after the plan -- sponsored by Russia, Turkey, and Iran -- went into effect at midnight.

Also on May 6, a text detailing the agreement was published by Russia's Foreign Ministry.

The establishment of safe zones after talks held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, earlier this week is the latest effort to reduce violence amid a six-year civil war that has left more than 400,000 dead and is the first to envisage armed foreign monitors on the ground in Syria.

However, the United States is not part of the deal, and the Syrian armed opposition refused to sign it, saying that Iran, which it considers a party in the conflict, should not be a guarantor.

According to the text of the document published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 6, Russia, Turkey, and Iran agreed to establish four separate de-escalation zones in Syria for at least six months.

 

 The largest safe zone includes Syria's Idlib Province and adjoining districts of Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia provinces.

The other three zones are in northern Homs Province, the Eastern Ghouta region east of the capital, Damascus, and along the Jordanian border in southern Syria.

Russia, Turkey, and Iran will finalize maps of the de-escalation zones by June 4, and the agreement can be extended automatically if the three guarantors agree.

The memorandum provides for halting the hostilities between Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups within the safe zones, allowing humanitarian access, medical assistance, as well as the return of displaced civilians to their homes and the restoration of damaged infrastructure.

The three guarantor states will continue fighting Islamic State, the Al-Nusra Front, and other groups both within and beyond the de-escalation zones, according to the document.

Russia and Iran are key allies of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Political and armed opposition groups in Syria have rejected the proposal, saying Russia has been unwilling or unable to get Assad and his Iranian-backed militia allies to respect past cease-fires.

Turkey is a major backer of opposition factions and has also sent troops into northern Syria.

It is also not clear how the safe zones will be enforced.

Russian Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi told reporters on May 5 that personnel from Russia, Iran, and Turkey will operate checkpoints and observation posts.

An official with Russia's military general staff said other countries may eventually have a role in enforcing the de-escalation areas.

Meanwhile, there were limited reports of bombing in northern Homs and Hama, and the southern province of Daraa, areas expected to be part of the "de-escalation zones," activists said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Still, opposition activists in southern, central, and northern Syria said the situation so far is better than previous days, with no air strikes reported.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media reported there was "relative calm" in the "de-escalation zones" nine hours after the deal went into effect.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has activists around the country, said government helicopter gunships dropped three barrel bombs on the rebel-held Latamneh area in central Syria, where fighting was reported between rebels and troops.

Government forces also bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods of Damascus, the observatory said.

"Despite some violations, the situation is much calmer than before," said opposition activist Mohammed al-Homsi, speaking via Skype from northern Syria.

 

 Syrian, Russian, Turkish, and U.S.-led coalition aircraft sometimes operate in the same areas in Syria. It is not yet clear how the new plan would affect flight paths of coalition warplanes battling IS militants and other radical groups -- and whether U.S. warplanes would abide by a diminished airspace.

The Pentagon said the de-escalation agreement would not affect the U.S.-led air campaign against IS.

A previous cease-fire agreement that went into effect on December 30 helped reduce overall violence in Syria for several weeks but eventually collapsed. Other attempts at a cease-fire in Syria have all ended in failure. </s> Russia, Iran and Turkey on Thursday signed an agreement to set up four safe zones in Syria that the United Nations described as a promising step to wind down the brutal six-year war.

The United States however gave an extremely cautious welcome, citing Iran's role as a guarantor even as it expressed hope that the deal could set the stage for a settlement.

Several members of the rebel delegation left the room shouting in protest as the signing ceremony got underway in the Kazakh capital Astana, angry at regime ally Iran, an AFP reporter saw.

The plan for the "de-escalation zones" was discussed on Tuesday by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation that the White House described as a "very good one."

The agreement provides for a ceasefire, a ban on all flights, rapid deliveries of humanitarian aid to the designated areas and the return of refugees.

Russia and Iran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the war, and Turkey, a supporter of rebel forces, hope to build on a ceasefire deal they reached in December.

The Syrian government and rebel delegations are not signatories to the deal.

"We are not supporting this agreement. It is an agreement between the three countries," said Usama Abu Zeid, a rebel spokesman. "We do not at all agree that Iran .. is a guarantor of this accord."

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who was in Astana as an observer, described the agreement as "an important promising positive step in the right direction" toward de-escalation.

A working group will be set up within two weeks to resolve technical issues and the three countries agreed to set up the four areas by June 4.

The first zone included the whole of Idlib province along with certain parts of neighbouring Latakia, Aleppo and Hama provinces. The second will encompass certain parts in the north of Homs province and the third will be comprised of some areas of Eastern Ghouta, outside of Damascus.

The fourth zone will include parts of the Deraa and Quneitra provinces in southern Syria, according to the memorandum seen by AFP.

The UN envoy said the deal would be quickly put to the test and that success on the ground could pave the way to a new round of political talks in Geneva later this month.

"There will be a period not longer than two weeks in which all this will be seriously put to the test and we want that test to succeed," he said.

In Washington, the State Department, which had dispatched an observer to the talks, said it appreciated Russian and Turkish efforts but called into doubt Iran's role.

"We continue to have concerns about the Astana agreement, including the involvement of Iran as a so-called 'guarantor'," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"Iran's activities in Syria have only contributed to the violence, not stopped it, and Iran's unquestioning support for the Assad regime has perpetuated the misery of ordinary Syrians."

"We nonetheless hope that this arrangement can contribute to a de-escalation of violence, end the suffering of the Syrian people, and set the stage for a political settlement of the conflict," she said.

Russia's envoy Alexander Lavrentiev said the zones would remain in place for six months, a period that could be extended.

It remained unclear whether there would be any international monitoring of the safe zones.

Putin said Wednesday that ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks.

Lavrentiev said Moscow was ready to send observers to the zones.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Thursday that the plan for the "de-escalation zones" would "50 percent" solve the six-year conflict.

Syrian rebels said earlier Thursday that they had resumed participation in the talks after having suspended their involvement a day earlier over air strikes against civilians.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with anti-government protests in March 2011. </s> (This version of the story corrects the second paragraph to clarify Idlib is not the first de-escalation zone)

Internally displaced people who fled Raqqa city carry their belongings as they leave a camp in Ain Issa, Raqqa Governorate, Syria May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A de-escalation agreement in Syria takes effect at midnight but Russia’s air force will continue strikes against Islamic State elsewhere in the country, Russian news agencies cited the Defense Ministry as saying on Friday.

The largest of the four de-escalation zones is in northern Syria and includes Idlib province and adjoining districts of Latakia, Aleppo and Hama with a total population of over 1 million, the ministry said.

Iran and Turkey agreed on Thursday to Russia’s proposal to establish the de-escalation zones.

But details of the memorandum the three guarantors signed were sketchy, while the main Syrian opposition group said it lacked all legitimacy.

The zones appear intended to halt conflict in specific areas between government forces and rebels, and would potentially be policed by foreign troops.

The fact that the de-escalation agreement was supported by the United Nations, the United States and Saudi Arabia guaranteed its implementation, the RIA and Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin as saying.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters the U.S.-led coalition in Syria had not altered its operations, but declined to comment on the de-escalation zones.

With the help of Russia and Iranian-backed militias, the Syrian government has gained the military upper hand against rebel groups, including some supported by Turkey, the U.S. and Gulf monarchies.

The government supported the de-escalation plan, but said it would continue to fight what it termed terrorist groups.

Rebels have rejected the deal and said they would not recognize Iran as a guarantor of any ceasefire plan.

The main Syrian opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, cautioned against attempts to “partition the country through vague meanings of what have been called ... ‘de-escalation’ zones”.

The Russian-led deal “was concluded without the Syrian people” and “lacks the minimum basics of legitimacy”, it said in a statement.

The Riyadh-based HNC, which includes political and armed groups, said it remained committed to the U.N.-led peace process in Geneva and called for its revival.

Mohammed Rasheed, a spokesman for the Jaish al-Nasr group, said rebels doubted Russian or Syrian government warplanes would stop striking opposition areas after the deal takes effect.

“This is not the first time,” he added, referring to several mediated ceasefires that have unravelled in Syria’s multi-sided conflict.

“As long as the jets are bombing civilians, then there are no signs of any ceasefire,” Rasheed said. “When they stop, then we can work on political solutions.” </s> ASTANA Syria's armed opposition on Thursday rejected a Russian plan to create safe zones in Syria, calling it a threat to the country's territorial integrity, and said it would also not recognise Iran as a guarantor of any ceasefire plan.Turkey, which supports Syrian rebels, and Iran, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad, agreed earlier in the day to Russia's proposal for "de-escalation zones" in Syria, a move welcomed by the United Nations."We want Syria to maintain its integrity," opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid said after Russia, Turkey and Iran - the sponsors of talks in the Kazakh capital Astana aimed at ending Syria's fighting - signed a memorandum on creating safe zones.

"We are against the division of Syria. As for the agreements, we are not a party to that agreement and of course we will never be in favour (of it) as long as Iran is called a guarantor state," Abu Zaid said.He also cited what he called "a huge gap" between the promises of Russia, which intervened militarily in 2015 on Assad's side and gave him back the upper hand in the conflict.

"We have an agreement already (in) our hands, why isn’t it implemented? There is an agreement...signed five months ago, why hasn't it been implemented?" he said, referring to a truce deal announced by Russia in December that was largely ignored on the ground. "Why are we jumping now to safe zones?" "Russia was not able to or does not want to implement the pledges it makes, and this is a fundamental problem."

Several opposition delegates walked out in protest, briefly interrupting the signing of the safe zones memorandum.Russia, Turkey and Iran did not immediately publish the memorandum, leaving its details unclear. But the safe zones appear intended to be conflict-free in order to help widen a ceasefire, and would potentially be policed by foreign troops.Senior Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters on Thursday that under the plan Russia could send observers to safe zones. Third-party monitors could also be invited provided Iran and Turkey agreed, he said. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov and Raushan Nurshayeva; writing by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Mark Heinrich)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations.

The resolution approved Saturday afternoon also calls for the "rapid, safe and unhindered" delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Syria. And it anticipates a meeting of the Syrian government and opposition representative in Kazakhstan's capital Astana in late January.

The resolution's final text dropped an endorsement of the Syria cease-fire agreement reached Thursday, as Western members of the council sought changes to the circulated draft resolution to clarify the U.N.'s role and the meaning of the agreement brokered by Moscow and Ankara.

Meanwhile on the ground in Syria, rebels warned on Saturday that cease-fire violations by pro-government forces threatened to undermine a two-day-old agreement intended to pave the way for talks between the government and the opposition in the new year.

Airstrikes pounded opposition-held villages and towns in the strategically-important Barada Valley outside Damascus, activists said, prompting rebels to threaten to withdraw their compliance with a nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey last week.

Rebels also accused the government of signing a different version of the agreement to the one they signed in the Turkish capital of Ankara, further complicating the latest diplomatic efforts to bring an end to six years of war.

Nearly 50,000 people died in the conflict in 2016, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains networks of contacts on all sides of the war. More than 13,000 of them were civilians, according to the Observatory. Various estimates have put the war's overall toll at around 400,000 dead.

If the truce holds, the government and the opposition will be expected to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in the Kazakh capital of Astana in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and Major General Ali Mamlouk, head of the National Security Bureau, were in Tehran Saturday to discuss developments with their Iranian counterparts, according to Iranian state media. They met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

The Kremlin meanwhile said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani confirmed their commitment to negotiations in Astana, in a phone conversation between the two leaders.

Iran and Russia have provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the conflict, while Turkey has served as a rear base and source of supplies for the opposition.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) to vote on a resolution to endorse the cease-fire and the Astana talks, in line with previous agreements mandating a transitional government for Syria.

The resolution also calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country.

The developments follow months of talks between Ankara and Moscow that culminated in a cease-fire agreement that went into effect Friday at midnight.

But in a statement issued by a coalition of 11 rebel factions, including the powerful Army of Islam group operating in the Damascus countryside, rebels said they could not abide by the cease-fire if the government continued its assault on Barada Valley.

The statement also complained that the government's version of the agreement signed in Ankara last week had deleted "a number of essential and non-negotiable points."

It said the opposition had agreed to a cease-fire encompassing the whole of Syria, without any exceptions to region or faction.

The Barada Valley Media Center said Lebanese Hezbollah militants were firing on villages and towns in the water-rich region as Russian and government aircraft carried out raids for the 10th consecutive day Saturday. The Lebanese militant group is a key ally to President Assad's forces.

The Barada Valley is the primary source of water for the capital and its surrounding region. The government assault has coincided with a severe water shortage in Damascus since Dec. 22. Images from the valley's Media Center indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and water processing facility have been destroyed in airstrikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital.

The Observatory reported at least two civilians and five militants have been killed in battles over opposition-held Eastern Ghouta and Barada Valley regions around Damascus, since the truce came into effect Thursday at midnight.

The Syrian military on Friday denied attacking the valley, saying it respected the Russian and Turkish brokered truce.

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported the death of an Islamic State commander in a Turkish airstrike near the north Syrian town of al-Bab on Friday. The truce does not cover operations against the Islamic State group or al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, the Fatah al-Sham front.

Anadolu identified the commander as Abu Ansari. The report could not be independently verified. </s> WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's administration announced Tuesday that it will arm Syria's Kurdish fighters "as necessary" to recapture the key Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, despite intense opposition from NATO ally Turkey, which sees the Kurds as terrorists.

The U.S. decision is meant to accelerate the Raqqa operation but undermines the Turkish government's view that the Syrian Kurdish group is an extension of a Kurdish terrorist organization that operates in Turkey. Washington is eager to retake Raqqa, arguing that it is a haven for Islamic State operatives to plan attacks on the West.

Also on Tuesday, Russia was seeking the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council for an accord it reached with Turkey and Iran to set up safe zones in Syria, the latest attempt at a cease-fire in a 6-year-old civil war that has left hundreds of thousands dead.

But Western diplomats said they need more details of the plan before letting the Security Council give its backing.

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"We need a bit more information about what this agreement means and implies, and if we get that, I'm sure we could agree to a good and supportive resolution," said Olof Skoog, Sweden's U.N. ambassador. "There have been agreements and cease-fires in the past, but not implemented and not monitored."

The latest initiative signed in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, calls for the establishment of four zones patrolled by foreign forces -- possibly including Iranian troops -- in the northwestern Idlib province; Homs province in the west; the East Ghouta suburb of the capital, Damascus; and southern Syria. The plan also calls for a halt to flights over the "de-escalation zones" and humanitarian access.

Russia has circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations that calls "on all member states to contribute in good faith to the implementation of the Memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic," according to the text seen by Bloomberg.

Dana White, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a written statement that Trump authorized the arms Monday. His approval gives the Pentagon the go-ahead to "equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS" in Raqqa, said White, who was traveling with Defense Secretary James Mattis in Europe. She used an acronym to refer to the Islamic State.

The U.S. sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces as its most effective battlefield partner against the Islamic State in northern and eastern Syria. White said they're "the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future."

While White did not mention the kinds of arms to be provided to the Kurds, other officials had indicated in recent days that 120mm mortars, machine guns, ammunition and light armored vehicles were possibilities. They said the U.S. would not provide artillery or surface-to-air missiles. The officials weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and demanded anonymity.

Former President Barack Obama's administration had been leaning toward arming the Syrian Kurds but struggled with how that could be done without torpedoing relations with Turkey, which is a U.S. ally in NATO and a key political actor in the greater Middle East. The issue has come to a head now because battlefield progress this year has put the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces nearly in position to attack the Islamic State in Raqqa, although they are still attempting to isolate the city.

In her statement, White said the U.S. prioritizes its support for the Arab elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

"We are keenly aware of the security concerns of our coalition partner Turkey," she said. "We want to reassure the people and government of Turkey that the U.S. is committed to preventing additional security risks and protecting our NATO ally."

Other officials said Trump's authorization includes safeguards intended to reassure the Turks that the additional U.S. weaponry and equipment will not be used by the Kurds in Turkey. The intent is to restrict the distribution and use of the weaponry by permitting its use for specific battlefield missions and then requiring the Kurds to return it to U.S. control.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Trump in Washington next week. An Erdogan adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, met on Tuesday with Thomas Shannon, the State Department's No. 2 official.

And in Denmark earlier Tuesday, Mattis said he had useful discussions with Turkey and described the two countries as working out differences over a U.S. alliance with Syrian Kurds in fighting Islamic State militants.

"That's not to say we all walk into the room with exactly the same appreciation of the problem or the path forward," Mattis told reporters after meeting with officials from more than a dozen nations also fighting the Islamic State. Basat Ozturk, a senior Turkish defense official, participated.

"We're going to sort it out," Mattis said. "We'll figure out how we're going to do it."

In Syria, government forces and U.S.-backed opposition fighters clashed on Tuesday in a remote desert area near the borders with Iraq and Jordan, where tensions have been rising.

The clashes came a day after pro-Syrian media said U.S., British and Jordanian forces were "massing" on the Jordanian side of the border. The report was likely a reference to an annual U.S.-Jordanian military drill known as "Eager Lion."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday's clashes were underway on the southern edge of Syria's central Homs province, where government forces have been on the offensive for days.

Tlas al-Salameh, the commander of a rebel faction know as Eastern Lions, said government warplanes carried out raids against his group without causing casualties.

Information for this article was contributed by Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor, Richard Lardner, Matthew Lee, Sarah el Deeb and Sam McNeil of The Associated Press; and by Kambiz Foroohar of Bloomberg News. </s> Following the U.S. airstrike in Syria last month, Russia and Iran issued a joint statement saying further U.S. action in Syria would be answered with retaliatory force. Thursday, Russia, Iran, and Turkey agreed to create four “de-escalation zones” in Syria, creating a temporary cease fire as well as safe areas for civilians to flee areas controlled by ISIS. Russia announced Friday that as part of the agreement, U.S.-led coalition aircraft will be banned from flying over the four de-escalation zones.

Under the plan, all military aircraft, including Russian and Turkish, are prohibited and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s air force would be in charge of ensuring other nations comply with the no-fly zone rules. According to Russian official Alexander Lavrentyev, U.S.-led coalition aircraft as well as aircraft from other nations would be able to engage ISIS in other areas:

Lavrentyev, whose remarks were carried by Russian news agencies, said “the operation of aviation in the de-escalation zones, especially of the forces of the international coalition, is absolutely not envisaged, either with notification or without. This question is closed.”

The new rule is already being supported by the United Nations. In a statement, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organization “welcomes the commitments to ceasing the use of all weapons, particularly aerial assets.”

The Russian agreement is the latest attempt to curb violence in Syria. A previous cease-fire signed in December 2016 collapsed after several weeks. Opposition to this new agreement protested Iran’s involvement as a guarantor of the deal, for Iran is accused of encouraging sectarian fighting in Syria.
A memorandum is signed by Russia, Iran, and Turkey calling for de-escalation of the Syrian Civil War, although neither the Syrian government nor the Syrian opposition are signatories.