World powers agree on Syria cease-fire, aid plan
Details of ‘cessation of hostilities’ still unclear, Kerry says
WASHINGTON — The United States, Russia and other world powers agreed to implement a nationwide “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war to start in one week in an effort to stop the carnage and allow delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged civilians.
The cease-fire will not apply to groups designated as terrorists — namely Islamic State and the al-Qaida offshoot known as Nusra Front — so that Russia and the U.S.-led coalition can continue airstrikes against those positions.
But how that will play out is unclear: The U.S. has often accused Russia of claiming it was fighting Islamic State when in fact it targeted other opponents of the Syrian regime.
The Russians also would be allowed to continue airstrikes against other, unspecified targets that they claim are terrorist groups.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement after a meeting in Munich that lasted hours beyond schedule, a sign of the torturous negotiations and deep levels of disagreement among the parties involved in the Syria crisis.
“Obviously, it’s been difficult,” Kerry said.
Kerry said details of the “cessation of hostilities” had yet to be worked out. That could include ways to monitor and verify the cease-fire. He said aid deliveries to the most desperate parts of Syria would begin within days.
Russia, which is backing the Syrian government, had proposed a cease-fire to begin March 1, but U.S. and European diplomats had rejected the proposal.
After days of bombing runs that U.S. officials say have killed civilians and moderate U.S.-backed rebels, Moscow has given its ally a clear military advantage.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, other Arab Gulf states and much of the West want to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying his willingness to use chemical weapons against his people makes him more suited for a war crimes tribunal than a presidential palace.
But Russia and Iran remain Assad’s firm backers, and their forces have shifted the balance of power in Syria back to Assad after nearly five years of civil war.
Kerry started Thursday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and then joined other members of the so-called International Syria Support Group, a collection of 20 nations working on the conflict, which has fueled the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II and killed more than 200,000 people.
Kerry later tweeted that he “made clear (to Lavrov) the need for immediate progress on humanitarian access, ceasefire.”
“We’re going to have a serious conversation about all aspects about what’s happening in Syria,” he told reporters in Munich. “We will talk about all aspects of the conflict.”