Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the Syrian government and rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have reached a ceasefire to end the fighting in the more-than-five-year civil war. Here’s what we know so far about the agreement—and its potential implications: The Syrian government and, according to Russia’s defense minister, seven armed groups who command about 60,000 fighters. The Defense Ministry named the groups as Feilak al-Sham (4,000 fighters), Ahrar al-Sham (16,000), Jaysh al-Islam (12,000), Thuwar al-Sham (2,500), Jaysh al-Mujahideen (8,000), Jaysh Idlib (6,000), Jabhat al-Shamiyah (3,000). When will it go into effect? December 30 at midnight, according to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. Who will ensure the truce isn’t broken? The Turkish Foreign Ministry says Turkey and Russia will jointly monitor the ceasefire; Russian President Vladimir Putin included Iran on that list. Russia and Iran support Assad; Turkey supports some rebel groups.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said Jabhat al-Nusra (the group now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham), ISIS, and affiliated groups are excluded. The agreement that is reached will be submitted to the UN Security Council later Thursday, the Russian foreign minister said. Both Turkey and Russia said representatives of the Syrian government and the rebels will meet soon in Astana, the Kazakh capital. Turkey added that they will be accompanied by the guarantor countries. Putin said the agreement was detailed in three documents. He said the first was signed by the Syrian government and the opposition to stop hostilities; the second to control the ceasefire; and the third “a declaration of intention for Syrian settlement.” No other details of the content of those documents have been released. No rebel commanders have yet publicly commented on the ceasefire. But Ahmad Ramadan, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, a major opposition group, told the AP that the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a coalition of rebel groups, will abide by the truce, but will retaliate to violations by Syrian forces and their allies. Separately, Al Jazeera reported that on Wednesday the negotiating arm of the largest group of rebels fighting under the banner of the FSA “said they had yet to be in contact with anyone and had not been invited to participate in talks.”

The Syrian civil war has dragged on for more than five years. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed and millions more displaced. In the early days of the fighting, it appeared as if Assad would go the way of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, but Russia became involved in November 2015. Since that time, Assad, backed by Russian airstrikes and Iranian fighters, as well as members of Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, made steady gains. Earlier this month, government forces captured all of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city that was divided since 2012. The recapture of the city means Assad now controls the overwhelming majority of Syria’s population centers. Rebels still control territory, including Idlib province, but are on the defensive. Assad is likely to stay in power for now and Russia can scale back its military involvement in Syria—as Putin himself acknowledged Thursday. Assad and his allies can also turn their attention to ISIS, al-Nusra, which was previously linked to al-Qaeda, and other groups it deems as terrorists. Short answer: It’s anyone’s guess, but past attempts at a ceasefire have failed, and Putin himself acknowledged that conditions are “fragile.” It’s unclear if Assad has the incentive not to target other rebel groups, though he is believed to be weak without Russian support. It’s also unclear if all the rebel groups will abide by a truce—or whether the guarantors of the ceasefire—Russia, Turkey, and Iran—agree on which of the rebels are terrorist organizations, and, consequently, can be targeted. Indeed, commentators pointed out Russia had labeled two of the groups included in the ceasefire list—Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam—as terrorists last month. </s> Moscow: Russia President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a nationwide ceasefire deal to come into effect across Syria from midnight and that the warring parties had agreed to sit down for peace talks.

The deal brokered by Russia and Turkey could represent a major breakthrough in nearly 6 years of war in Syria and comes a week after rebel resistance was crushed in the second city of Aleppo.

Although on opposing sides in the conflict, Turkey and Russia have been working intensively to find a ceasefire after the fall of Aleppo, in a process that conspicuously does not include the United States.

Putin said in televised comments that Damascus and the "main forces of the armed opposition" had inked the truce agreement and a document expressing a readiness to start peace talks.

"Several hours ago, the event occurred that we have not only been waiting for but been working so much to hasten," Putin said in a meeting with his defence and foreign ministers.

After the Kremlin announcement, Syria's army said it would halt all military operations from midnight, and the opposition National Coalition also said it backed the truce.

Putin also said he would reduce Moscow's military contingent in Syria, which has been flying a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad since 2015.

The Kremlin strongman, however, said that Russia would continue to fight "terrorism" in the war-torn country and maintain its support for the government in Damascus.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the seven opposition groups, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, that have signed up to the agreements after months of talks comprise some 62,000 fighters and control a large portion of territory in central and northern Syria.

He warned that any groups that did not abide by the ceasefire would be considered "terrorists" alongside the Islamic State group and the former Al-Qaeda affiliate previously known as Al-Nusra Front, now rebranded the Fateh al-Sham Front.

Putin's announcement of the deal came hours after Turkey's foreign minister said the potential truce could start by New Year.

The nationwide ceasefire follows the deal brokered by Turkey and Russia for Aleppo which allowed the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians.

Moscow and Ankara are now pushing for peace talks between Damascus and the rebels to start soon in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.

"Now we need to do everything for these agreements to come into force, for them to work, so that the negotiating teams that have been or are being formed promptly and as soon as possible arrive in Astana," Putin said.

Russia and Turkey have both said that the peace talks they will supervise are meant to supplement UN-backed peace efforts, rather than replace them entirely.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia, Turkey and Iran were currently organising for the talks to begin in Astana and pressing for other key international players to get involved.

Lavrov said Moscow would invite Egypt before trying to attract other regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Jordan.

In a clear snub to US President Barack Obama, Russia's top diplomat said Moscow would look to get the team of President-elect Donald Trump in the mix when he takes power next month.

As its cooperation tightened with Moscow, Turkey stood conspicuously quiet as the regime, supported by Russia, took control last week of Aleppo, handing the rebels their biggest defeat in the civil war so far.

The victory was also a boost for Putin, who sent forces to Syria last year to bolster Assad in an unprecedented intervention.

Syria's conflict began with a 2011 uprising against Assad but quickly morphed into a complicated civil war that has now killed more than 310,000 people and forced millions more from their homes.

The conflict continued to rage as civilians were killed in regime strikes on Thursday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP in Beirut.

The observatory said At least 15 civilians, including six children, were killed on Thursday in airstrikes and artillery fire on rebel-held territory near Syria's capital Damascus. </s> TEHRAN (Reuters) - The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Friday failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall a Syrian government offensive in rebel-held Idlib province which the United Nations fears could cause a humanitarian catastrophe involving tens of thousands of civilians.

Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, meeting in Tehran for a summit of key foreign players in Syria’s war, agreed in a final statement that there could be no military solution to the conflict and it could only end through a negotiated political process.

But as Syrian government and Russian warplanes mounted air strikes in Idlib on Friday morning in a possible prelude to a full-scale offensive, Putin and Rouhani pushed back against Erdogan’s call for a truce.

The Turkish leader said he feared a massacre and Turkey could not accommodate any more refugees flooding over its border.

Putin said a ceasefire would be pointless as it would not involve Islamist militant groups it deems terrorists. Rouhani said Syria must regain control over all its territory.

Idlib is the insurgents’ only remaining major stronghold and a government offensive could be the war’s last decisive battle.

Tehran and Moscow have helped Assad turn the course of the war against an array of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to the Islamist militants, while Turkey is a leading opposition supporter and has troops in the country.

Their discussions in Tehran mark a crucial point in a seven-year-old war which has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes.

Erdogan, in his opening remarks, said a ceasefire in Idlib would be a victory for their summit.

Putin responded: “The fact is that there are no representatives of the armed opposition here around this table. And more still, there are no representatives of Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS or the Syrian army.”.

“I think in general the Turkish president is right. It would be good. But I can’t speak for them, and even more so can’t talk for terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS that they will stop shooting or stop using drones with bombs.”

In the final statement, the three agreed on the need to eliminate Islamic State, the Nusra Front, and other groups linked to al Qaeda and designated as terrorists. But there were other armed opposition groups who could join any ceasefire agreement, they said.

The communique also called on the United Nations and the international community to step up humanitarian aid to Syria and help in restoring basic infrastructure assets.

Efforts must be made to protect and to create conditions for the safe return of refugees, it added.

Iran’s Rouhani said the battle in Syria would continue until rebels were pushed out of the whole country, especially in Idlib, but he added that any military operations should avoid hurting civilians.

He called on all rebels in Syria to disarm and seek a peaceful end to the conflict.

“The fight against terrorism in Idlib is an indispensable part of the mission to return peace and stability to Syria, but this fight should not harm civilians and lead to a “scorched-earth” policy,” Rouhani said.

Erdogan said Turkey no longer had the capacity to take in any more refugees from Syria should the government offensive in Idlib go ahead. Turkey has accepted 3.5 million refugees from Syria since the start of the war in 2011.

“Whatever reason there is an attack that has been made or will be made will result in disaster, massacre and humanitarian drama,” he said. “Millions will be coming to Turkey’s borders because they have nowhere to go. Turkey has filled its capacity to host refugees.”

The Assad government was not directly represented at the summit, nor were the United States and other Western powers.

The United States came in for criticism from all sides, however, higlighting to complex nature of a conflict involving a myriad of factions.

Rouhani said the United States should end its presence in Syria, while Erdogan said Turkey was “extremely annoyed” by Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, whom Ankara considers as terrorists linked to Kurdish separatists in Turkey.

Widely abhorred internationality for the brutal conduct of the war, Assad has largely reclaimed most of Syrian territory though much of it is ravaged. Although the West has long said he must stand down or be removed, that looks unlikely at this point.

Meanwhile, the fate of Idlib hung in the balance.

The United Nations Security Council met to discuss Idlib on Friday at the request of the United States, and U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said there were “all the ingredients for a perfect storm”.

“The dangers are profound that any battle for Idlib could be, would be a horrific and bloody battle,” de Mistura said. </s> ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for a ceasefire in the rebel-held region of Idlib in northwest Syria on Friday and said an anticipated government assault on insurgents there could result in a massacre.

But Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Moscow opposed a truce, and Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani said Syria must regain control over all its territory. The three presidents, whose countries’ are key foreign players in Syria’s long civil war, were speaking at a summit in Tehran aimed at charting a way to end the conflict.

The situation in Idlib, the insurgent’s only remaining major stronghold, is an immediate issue as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russia and Iran, prepare for what could be the conflict’s last decisive battle.

The United Nations has warned an assault could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. But as the leaders gathered in Tehran, Russian and government warplanes hit rebel-held parts of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

Tehran and Moscow have helped Assad turn the course of the war against an array of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to Islamist militants, while Turkey is a leading opposition supporter and has troops in the country.

Their discussions in Tehran could mark a turning point in a seven-year-old war which has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes. In opening remarks, Erdogan called on Putin and Rouhani to agree to a ceasefire in Idlib, saying such an accord would be a "victory" of their summit.

However, Putin responded that he opposed a ceasefire because Nusra Front and Islamic State militants located there were not part of peace talks. Syria should regain control of all its territory, he said.

"The fact is that there are no representatives of the armed opposition here around this table. \And more still, there are no representatives of Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS or the Syrian army," Putin said. "I think in general the Turkish president is right. It would be good. But I can’t speak for them, and even more so can’t talk for terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS that they will stop shooting or stop using drones with bombs.

Rouhani also said the battle in Syria would continue until militants are pushed out of the whole country, especially in Idlib, but he added that any military operations should avoid harming civilians.

He called on all militants in Syria to disarm and seek a peaceful end to the conflict. The Assad government was not directly represented at the summit, nor was the United States or other Western powers.

Widely abhorred internationality for the brutal conduct of the war, Assad has largely reclaimed most of Syrian territory though much of it is ravaged. As the conflict approaches its endgame, Iran, Turkey and Russia are seeking to safeguard their own interests after investing heavily militarily and diplomatically in Syria. "The battle for Idlib is going to be the final major battle," said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. "It will be waged irrespective of civilian casualties, even though they will make an effort to minimise it. </s> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he opposed a ceasefire in the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Idlib because Nusra Front and Islamic State militants located there were not part of peace talks.

Speaking at talks in Tehran with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, Putin said the Syrian government, a close Russian ally, should regain control over all of its territory. </s> The Syrian regime has signed a truce deal with rebels, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin leader also said the ceasefire agreement, to begin from midnight and guaranteed by Russia and Turkey's governments, will be followed by peace talks between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says the truce will include 62,000 rebel fighters across the country.

The Russian military has reportedly set up a hotline with its Turkish counterpart to monitor compliance.

Mr Putin's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also said that President-elect Donald Trump's administration will be invited to the Syrian peace process once he takes office.

If true, and if the truce deal is respected, it could end a six-year civil war that has killed potentially more than 430,000 and forced around 11 million from their homes.

The Syrian military has also said it will down its weapons as part of the nationwide ceasefire from midnight. </s> (CNN) Call it a pop-up alliance. After spending much of this year berating each other after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over the Syrian-Turkish border , the two governments are suddenly the "honest brokers" of a ceasefire in Syria -- one that is designed to lead to political negotiations. The United States, which has long championed the stuttering diplomatic process on resolving the Syrian conflict, is nowhere to be seen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the ceasefire was only the first step, with other documents signed on enforcing the truce and beginning peace talks. The Syrian military promised to cease operations nationwide at midnight Thursday.

Here's how the deal looks.

Russian and Turkey are now driving what had been a UN-led political process.

Each is responsible for bringing its own allies into the process: the Russians will bring the Assad regime on board and the Turks as many moderate factions as they can coax or cajole. Both sides envisage a rapid timeline, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry saying the Assad regime and opposition would meet soon in Kazakhstan, according to Turkish state media.

Plenty can still go wrong, and recent history gives little cause for optimism.

Putin acknowledged that "all the agreements reached are very fragile." Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoğlu said Thursday that details on how to monitor the ceasefire and apply sanctions against those who breached it were still being worked out. And he insisted there would be no direct negotiations between Turkey and the Syrian government.

But the intent is clear: peel off moderate rebel groups from the tacit alliances they have formed with radical Islamist groups in parts of Syria. Then crush the militant groups excluded from the process. And this is where, inevitably, things get complicated.

One source in Ahrar al-Sham, which receives extensive support from Turkey, acknowledged that it is involved in the negotiations. But late Thursday the group said on its Twitter feed that it "has reservations about the proposed agreement" and had not yet signed. Its ultimate decision will be important. If Ahrar does sign up, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham will be isolated and vulnerable.

The timing of the deal is critical. The Russian-Turkish entente has exploited the political transition in Washington, ignoring the Obama administration in its dying days and betting that the Trump administration will accept a process already under way.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already issued the invitation.

"I would like to express the hope that as soon as the administration of Donald Trump takes office, they will also be able to join these efforts," he said during a meeting with Putin in Moscow.

The President-elect has expressed doubts about the reliability of moderate groups previously supported by the Obama administration and suggested his administration would consider joining Russia in the battle against ISIS in Syria.

Vladimir Putin held all the best cards, and it seems that Ankara decided to cash in its chips. It was not abandoning its allies among the Syrian factions, but refocusing its efforts on creating a "Turkey-friendly" region in northern Syria. In the process President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to kill two birds with one stone.

Turkey has long been exasperated by US support for the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG. "Up to now, the US has given weapons to the YPG, full stop," Cavusoğlu said Thursday.

Washington sees the YPG as its battering ram against ISIS in northern Syria. Turkey sees it as a terror organization intimately linked to its own Kurdish insurgents, the PKK. A CNN team inside northern Syria earlier this year saw plenty of evidence of those links, including large posters of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in many Kurdish-dominated towns.

The United States has denied supplying the YPG with weapons but says it provides tactical support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the umbrella group in which the YPG is the main component.

One sign of the new cooperation between Russia and Turkey is the introduction of Russian air power this week to help groups allied to Turkey rid the strategic town of Al Bab in northern Syria of ISIS fighters. Another is the establishment of a hotline to monitor breaches of the new ceasefire.

The Russia-Turkey axis may be a marriage of convenience, and there are some major hurdles to overcome. Turkey wants the Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah -- a key military supporter of the Assad regime -- out of Syria. That will not sit well with Iran, which is also sponsoring the ceasefire process.

Nor has Turkey abandoned its long-term goal that President Bashar al Assad must step down. That also remains the position of the Free Syrian Army, whose representative Abu Zeid said Thursday: "The fact that the negotiations are based on Geneva 1 [the UN-sponsored peace process] means that there is no place for Assad in Syria's future."

In addition, some fighters with Islamist groups -- especially in Ahrar al-Sham -- may opt to join the resistance rather than lay down their arms. And the Gulf states -- especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- may decide to double down on their support for groups opposed to negotiations.

Abu Zeid, who took part in the negotiations on behalf of the opposition, insisted Thursday: "Our message to the Syrian population is that our fingers will remain on the trigger."

But the truth is that armed and political opposition to the Syrian regime, shorn of its support from Ankara, has rarely been weaker since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad began five years ago. And the most influential actors on the ground in Syria -- Russia, Turkey, Iran and the Syrian regime -- are, for now, all on the same page. </s> TEHRAN (Reuters) - The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Friday failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall a Syrian government offensive in the rebel-held Idlib province which the United Nations fears could cause a humanitarian catastrophe involving tens of thousands of civilians.

Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, meeting in Tehran for a summit of key foreign players in Syria’s war, agreed in a final statement that there could be no military solution to the conflict and it could only end through a negotiated political process.

But as Syrian government and Russian warplanes mounted air strikes in Idlib on Friday morning in a possible prelude to a full-scale offensive, Putin and Rouhani pushed back against Erdogan’s call for a truce.

The Turkish leader said he feared a massacre and Turkey could not accommodate any more refugees flooding over its border.

Putin said a ceasefire would be pointless as it would not involve Islamist militant groups it deems terrorists. Rouhani said Syria must regain control over all its territory.

Idlib is the insurgents’ only remaining major stronghold and a government offensive could be the war’s last decisive battle.

Tehran and Moscow have helped Assad turn the course of the war against an array of opponents ranging from Western-backed rebels to the Islamist militants, while Turkey is a leading opposition supporter and has troops in the country.

Their discussions in Tehran mark a crucial point in a seven-year-old war which has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million to flee their homes.

Erdogan, in his opening remarks, said a ceasefire in Idlib would be a victory for their summit.

Putin responded: “The fact is that there are no representatives of the armed opposition here around this table. And more still, there are no representatives of Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS or the Syrian army.

“I think in general the Turkish president is right. It would be good,” he said. “But I can’t speak for them, and even more so can’t talk for terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra or ISIS that they will stop shooting or stop using drones with bombs.”

In a series of tweets following the summit, Erdogan said resorting to methods that would disregard civilian lives would “play into the hands of terrorists.”

“If the world turns a blind eye to the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people to further the regime’s interests, we will neither watch from the sidelines nor participate in such a game,” he said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a meeting with Putin on Friday that Iran and Russia can work together to restrain America, according his official website.

“One of the issues that the two sides can cooperate on is restraining America,” Khamenei said. “Because America is a danger for humanity and there is a possibility to restrain them.

“The Americans have faced a real defeat in Syria and have not reached their goals,” he added.

In the final statement, the three agreed on the need to eliminate Islamic State, the Nusra Front and other groups linked to al Qaeda and designated as terrorists. But there were other armed opposition groups that could join any ceasefire agreement, they said.

The communique also called on the United Nations and the international community to step up humanitarian aid to Syria and help in restoring basic infrastructure assets.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey attend a news conference following their meeting in Tehran, Iran September 7, 2018. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS

Efforts must be made to protect and to create conditions for the safe return of refugees, it added.

“HORRIFIC, BLOODY BATTLE”

Iran’s Rouhani said the battle in Syria would continue until rebels were pushed out of the whole country, especially in Idlib, but he added that any military operations should avoid hurting civilians.

“The fight against terrorism in Idlib is an indispensable part of the mission to return peace and stability to Syria, but this fight should not harm civilians and lead to a ‘scorched-earth’ policy,” Rouhani said.

Erdogan said Turkey no longer had the capacity to take in any more refugees from Syria should the government offensive in Idlib go ahead. Turkey has accepted 3.5 million refugees from Syria since the start of the war in 2011.

“Whatever reason there is an attack that has been made or will be made will result in disaster, massacre and humanitarian drama,” he said. “Millions will be coming to Turkey’s borders because they have nowhere to go. Turkey has filled its capacity to host refugees.”

The Assad government was not directly represented at the summit, nor were the United States and other Western powers.

The United States came in for criticism from all sides, however, highlighting the complex nature of a conflict involving a myriad of factions.

Rouhani said the United States should end its presence in Syria, while Erdogan said Turkey was “extremely annoyed” by Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers as terrorists linked to Kurdish separatists in Turkey.

Widely abhorred internationality for the brutal conduct of the war, Assad has largely reclaimed most of Syrian territory though much of it is ravaged. Although the West has long said he must stand down or be removed, that looks unlikely at this point.

Slideshow (9 Images)

Meanwhile, the fate of Idlib hung in the balance.

The United Nations Security Council met to discuss Idlib on Friday at the request of the United States, and U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said there were “all the ingredients for a perfect storm.”

“The dangers are profound that any battle for Idlib could be, would be a horrific and bloody battle,” de Mistura said. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - Clashes, shelling and air raids in western Syria marred a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire that aims to end nearly six years of war and lead to peace talks between rebels and a government emboldened by recent battlefield success.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced the ceasefire on Thursday after forging the agreement with Turkey, a longtime backer of the opposition.

The truce went into force at midnight but monitors and rebels reported almost immediate clashes, and violence appeared to escalate later on Friday as warplanes bombed areas in the country’s northwest, they said.

Asaad Hanna, a political officer in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose alliance of insurgent groups, told Reuters violence had reduced but had not stopped.

“We cannot be optimistic about someone like the Russians who used to kill us for six years ... they are not angels. But we are happy because we are reducing the violence and working to find a solution for the current situation,” said Hanna.

The ceasefire is meant as a first step toward fresh peace talks, after several failed international efforts this year to halt the conflict, which began as a peaceful uprising and descended into war in 2011.

It has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths, displaced more than 11 million people and drawn in the military involvement of world and regional powers, including Moscow and Ankara.

The agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey, which said they will guarantee the truce, is the first of three ceasefire deals this year not to involve the United States or United Nations.

Moscow is keen to push ahead with peace talks, hosted by its ally Kazakhstan. But the first challenge will be maintaining the truce, which looked shaky on Friday.

WARPLANES AND HELICOPTERS

Syrian government warplanes carried out nearly 20 raids against rebels in several towns along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Clashes between rebel groups and government forces took place overnight in the area, the Observatory and rebel officials said.

Warplanes and helicopters also struck northwest of Damascus in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, where government troops and allied forces clashed with rebels, the British-based Observatory reported.

A military media unit run by Damascus’s ally Hezbollah denied any Syrian government air strikes on the area.

An official from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group said government forces had also tried to advance in southern Aleppo province.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military on Friday’s clashes.

Residents of several rebel-held areas, including towns and cities in Idlib province, used the relative calm to hold street protests against the Syrian government on Friday, the Observatory said.

A number of rebel groups have signed the new agreement, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Several rebel officials acknowledged the deal, and a FSA spokesman said it would abide by the truce.

Hanna, the FSA political officer, said late on Friday rebels were not yet responding to attacks by pro-government forces and had asked Turkey to make sure the attacks stop.

“If the breaks come again, we will reply to all the sources of fire. We are monitoring the fighting but our weapons are ready,” he said.

PREVIOUS COLLAPSES

The previous two Syria ceasefires, brokered by Washington and Moscow, took effect in February and September but both collapsed within weeks as warring sides accused each other of truce violations and fighting intensified.

Putin said the parties were prepared to start peace talks intended to take place in Astana. Syrian state media said late on Thursday those talks would take place “soon”.

The Syrian government will be negotiating from a strong position after its army and their allies, including Shi’ite militias supported by Iran, along with Russian air power, routed rebels in their last major urban stronghold of Aleppo this month.

Moscow’s air campaign since September last year has turned the war in Assad’s favor, and the last rebels left Aleppo for areas that are still under rebel control to the west of the city, including the province of Idlib.

A man rides a bicycle near damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria December 30, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

On Friday the Russian ambassador to the United Nations said Moscow had circulated a proposed resolution at the U.N. Security Council that would endorse the ceasefire, and said he hoped the council would vote on the resolution on Saturday.

In another sign that the latest truce could be as challenging to maintain as its predecessors, there was confusion over which rebel groups would be covered by the ceasefire.

The Syrian army said the agreement did not include the radical Islamist group Islamic State, fighters from al-Qaeda’s former branch the Nusra Front, or any factions linked to those jihadist groups.

But several rebel officials said on Thursday that the agreement did include the former Nusra Front - now known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - which announced in July that it was severing ties with al Qaeda.

A spokesman for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham criticized the ceasefire for not mentioning Assad’s fate, and said the political solution under this agreement would “reproduce the criminal regime”.

“The solution is to topple the criminal regime militarily,” he said in a statement on Friday.

The powerful Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham said it had not signed the ceasefire agreement because of “reservations” but did not elaborate.

RUSSIA-TURKEY DETENTE

The deal follows a thaw in ties between Russia and Turkey.

Ankara backs rebels fighting against Islamic State, which has made enemies of all other sides involved in the conflict.

In a sign of the detente, the Turkish armed forces said on Friday Russian aircraft had carried out three air strikes against Islamic State in the area of al-Bab in northern Syria.

Ankara has insisted on the departure of Assad but his removal has become a secondary concern to fighting the expansion of Kurdish influence in northern Syria. The chances of Assad’s opponents forcing him from power now seem more remote than at any point in the war.

Turkish demands that fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah movement leave Syria may not please Iran, another major Assad supporter. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces against rebels.

Slideshow (9 Images)

On Thursday a senior Hezbollah official said the party’s military wing would remain in Syria.

The United States, in the waning days of U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, has been sidelined in recent negotiations and is not due take part in the Kazakhstan talks.

Russia has said the United States could join a fresh peace process once President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. It also wants Egypt to join, together with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and the United Nations.

Trump has said he would cooperate more closely with Russia to fight terrorism but it was unclear what that policy would look like, given resistance from the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community to closer cooperation with Russia on Syria.
Russian president Vladimir Putin says a ceasefire has been brokered between the Syrian government and rebel forces. The ceasefire is said to be guaranteed by Russia and Turkey and would exclude UN-denominated terror organizations such as ISIL and al-Nusra. The FSA says it would abide by the truce, while Ahrar al-Sham expresses "reservations".