The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella group say they accept the terms of a deal to cease hostilities from Saturday.
\nThe government said it would halt “combat operations” in line with the plan announced by the US and Russia.
\nBut the opposition said its acceptance depended on government forces ending sieges and air strikes of civilians.
\nThe deal will not apply to the two main jihadist groups in Syria, Islamic State (IS) and the rival al-Nusra Front.
\nAl-Nusra is an affiliate of al-Qaeda and forms part of a major rebel alliance that controls large parts of the country’s north-west.
\nMore than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria.
\nEleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as IS militants.<\/p>\n
‘Right to respond’<\/strong> Russians sense opportunity: Steve Rosenberg, BBC News Moscow<\/strong> ‘Mixed areas’<\/strong> Source: BBC NEWS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella group say they accept the terms of a deal to cease hostilities from Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nUnder the terms of the agreement announced by the US and Russia on Monday, the Syrian government and opposition were required to indicate by noon on Friday (10:00 GMT) whether they would comply with the cessation of hostilities.
\nThe High Negotiation Committee (HNC) issued a statement after a meeting in Saudi Arabia saying it was “committed to the success of the international efforts dedicated to ending Syrian bloodshed”.
\nBut it warned that “acceptance of the truce is conditional” on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2254, which calls on all parties to lift sieges, allow aid deliveries, halt aerial and artillery attacks on civilians, and release detainees.
\nThe Syrian government later declared “its acceptance of a halt to combat operations on the basis of continuing military efforts to combat terrorism”.
\nIt added that it would work with Russia, which has conducted air strikes against Mr Assad’s opponents since September, to identify areas and armed groups that were covered and reserved the right to “respond to any breach by these groups “.<\/p>\n
\nMoscow’s military intervention in Syria has been a game changer.
\nNot only has it forced the West to sit down at the negotiating table and deal with Russia and its president, but also to recognise Russia as a major world power. And, of course, it has given a huge boost to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
\nThe reason Washington no longer demands the Syrian leader’s resignation as a pre-condition to peace is because it knows that is no longer realistic: Russian firepower has made Mr Assad more secure, his armed opponents weaker.
\nThe Russians sense that both the United States and Europe want a swift end to this conflict, and they know that the Syrian refugee crisis is putting a huge strain on the EU.
\nSo, Russia sees its chance to change the way it is viewed: it wants to be seen by the West not as the problem, but the solution.
\nThe Syrian government also stressed the importance of sealing Syria’s borders, halting foreign support for armed groups, and “preventing these organisations from strengthening their capabilities or changing their positions”.
\nThe Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance told the Associated Press that it would not abide by the deal because it was fighting only IS in northern Syria.<\/p>\n
\nThe UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has described the plan for the cessation of hostilities as encouraging, but acknowledged that enforcing it on the ground will be challenging.
\nMr de Mistura will convene a taskforce to monitor the deal as soon as it takes effect, due at midnight on Saturday (22:00 GMT on Friday).
\nThe US, which supports the opposition to Mr Assad, will also share information with Russia, including data that delineates territory where armed groups are active.
\nRebel commanders expressed doubts about the accord, saying it would provide cover for government forces and Russian aircraft to continue their attacks.
\n“Russia and the regime will target the areas of the revolutionaries on the pretext of al-Nusra Front’s presence,” Bashar al-Zoubi of the Yarmouk Army told the Reuters news agency. “If this happens, the truce will collapse.”
\nUS Secretary of State John Kerry told a Senate committee that it would be clear very soon whether Russia was serious about ending the conflict.
\n“The proof will be in the actions that come in the next days,” he said.
\nHe added that Mr Assad was going to “going to have to make some real decisions” about the formation of a transitional administration, as part of a UN Security Council-endorsed peace process, or the US would consider “Plan B options”.
\nFighting continued on Tuesday despite the plan for a cessation of hostilities.
\nThe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that air strikes, believed to have been carried out by Russian jets, had targeted one of the last roads into opposition-held eastern areas of the city of Aleppo.
\nSouth of Aleppo, IS militants captured the town of Khanaser, cutting a road used to supply government-controlled areas of the city, the Syrian Observatory said.
\nMeanwhile, state TV reported that an aid convoy had entered the eastern Damascus suburb of Kafr Batna, which is under siege by government forces.<\/p>\n