Over 200 Armed Groups in Syria Express Commitment to Truce

More than 200 armed groups have agreed to observe nationwide ceasefire in Syria, and their number is growing, the Russian General Staff said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — As of today, 207 armed groups have declared their commitment to the ceasefire in Syria, their number is constantly growing, chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said Wednesday at the VI Moscow Conference on International Security.

"As a result of agreements between the armed opposition and the Syrian government, achieved with the mediation of Turkey and Russia, there has been a regime of cessation of hostilities in Syria since December 30, 2016. As of today, 207 detachments of moderate opposition have declared their commitment to it. Their number is constantly growing," Rudskoi said.

In late December, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a Russian-Turkish resolution on a ceasefire regime in Syria, as well as on holding political talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Astana, Kazakhstan in January 2017.

A day earlier, a nationwide ceasefire between Syrian government troops and several opposition factions came into force. Russia and Turkey serve as guarantors of the deal that paves the way for negotiations between the warring parties.