Syrian Democratic Front Hopes New Ceasefire to Secure Success of Next Talks

The Syrian Democratic Front uniting internal opposition forces hopes the new ceasefire in Syria will bring Syrians to the negotiation table and secure the success of the talks, according to the Front's spokeswoman Mais Krydee.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Syrian Democratic Front uniting internal opposition forces welcomes the new ceasefire in Syria and hopes it will secure the success of the next peace talks, the Front’s spokeswoman Mais Krydee told Sputnik on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier on Thursday that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups reached an agreement on a ceasefire on Syrian territory and on readiness to start peace talks.

"We, the Syrian Democratic Front, hope this new ceasefire will last and help to stop the ongoing war in Syria. We also hope it will bring Syrians to the negotiation table and secure the success of the talks," Krydee said.

Three ceasefire documents have been signed between the Syrian government and the armed opposition forces. The ceasefire takes effect at midnight local time on Friday, December 30 (22:00 GMT on Thursday). The documents also introduce a monitor mechanism and set forth that the parties are ready to start peace negotiations.

Russia and Turkey act as co-guarantors of the new ceasefire and have already opened a hotline to that end, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Next meeting between the opposition and government forces is likely to take place in Kazakh capital Astana alongside Russia, Turkey and Iran. The Geneva-format Syria talks mediated by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura are expected in early February.