Media: Turkey and Russia agreed on a plan for a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria
The Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Turkey and Russia agreed on a plan for the introduction of a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria. According to this plan, all the parties to the conflict in Syria will be asked to halt combat operations. The agency’s report says that Ankara's and Moscow's agreed on a plan for a comprehensive cease-fire, which does not apply to the terrorist groups, will be presented to the parties of the conflict in Syria for approval.
However, there is no clear confirmation of this yet. The Presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said to the reporters commenting on the issue, "I cannot answer this question as I don't have enough information."
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, confirmed that Turkey has prepared an agreement for a ceasefire in Syria. At the same time, he stressed that the establishment of peace in Syria is impossible if Bashar al-Assad remains the president of the country, as the opposition in Syria will not accept him. Turkey and Russia's positions diverge in this regard.
In January 2017 Russia and Turkey are planning to act as mediators in the talks in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, on the settlement of the Syrian conflict. Russia supports the government of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the Turkey, the Syrian opposition.
Last week, the Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Russia, and Iran met in Moscow. After the talks, they offered their countries as guarantors of the peace agreement between the Syrian government and the opposition.