Kazakhstan Welcomes Syria Ceasefire, Urges Commitment to Deal

The Kazakh leader welcomed the agreement on cessation of hostilities in Syria and urged all sides to adhere to it.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — Kazakhstan endorses the Syrian ceasefire agreement and urges all sides to observe the truce, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Wednesday.

"We welcome the reaching of an agreement by Russia and the United States on the ceasefire in Syria, and call on all conflicting sides to fully comply with reached agreements," Nazarbayev said during a meeting with foreign ambassadors to Kazakhstan.

On February 22, Russia and the United States reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria which has been in a state of civil war since 2011.

The ceasefire took effect on Saturday. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to groups designated by the United Nations to be terrorist organizations, such as Daesh and the Nusra Front, outlawed in a number of countries, including Russia.

The truce has been backed by the UN Security Council, which adopted a corresponding resolution on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force.

In October, members of the Syrian opposition met in Kazakstan's capital Astana to discuss the transition of power in Syria, parliamentary elections and the fight against terrorism. Syria's opposition also gathered in Astana in May, where a document calling for the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from Syria was signed.