Syrian Opposition Group Wants More Powers to Be Guarantors of New Syria Truce

© Sputnik / Michael Alaeddin / Go to the mediabankA state flag of the Syrian Arab Republic by an Orthodox church in an old Christian block of Aleppo, Syria
A state flag of the Syrian Arab Republic by an Orthodox church in an old Christian block of Aleppo, Syria - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) wants to see more regional powers involved in the newly-announced ceasefire as its guarantors, HNC’s spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani told Sputnik.

Evacuees from rebel-held eastern Aleppo ride on pick-up trucks along the government-held area of al-Ramousah bridge, Syria December 16, 2016. - Sputnik International
Step Toward Peace: What Comes Next for Syria After Ceasefire Enters Into Force
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups reached an agreement on a ceasefire on Syrian territory, taking effect at 00:00 on Friday. Russia and Turkey took the role of the ceasefire guarantors, but other countries may also be invited, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"It is very important to involve all the regional parties [in the ceasefire]," Kodmani said.

Lavrov said on Thursday that that Russia was ready to invite Egypt and later Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and Jordan to be guarantors.

"It’s important to have Egypt and the United Arab Emirates [as guarantors], as they have good influence. It’s also very important to have Saudi Arabia, it has also a lot of influence on the groups on the ground and has a major interest as well in the stabilization of Syria," Kodmani added.

The HNC spokeswoman expressed hope that the new ceasefire will be a lasting one, unlike the the previous attempts, which failed "because of the lack of political will" of the groups on the ground and because of the support of the Syrian government by Russia and Iran.

"Today that Russia is involved, we hope that this is indeed the end of the military solution. If indeed Russia is a guarantor of the ceasefire, if it guarantees it, then there is more hope that this will be respected," Kodmani said.

In order to monitor the implementation, a hot line between Moscow and Ankara would be established.

"Turkey is also the guarantor. I think we can trust Turkey – it has good relations with many groups of the opposition and has an ability to influence them. So it is in a good position to guarantee. Any reluctant groups today hopefully will abide by the ceasefire as well," Kodmani added.

According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the agreement was signed by seven Syrian opposition groups that together have about 62,000 troops. He added that if the ceasefire is implemented, Russia is ready to reduce its military presence in Syria.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала