Damascus Vows to Honor Syrian Ceasefire, But Says Will React if Truce Violated

Damascus vows to take all necessary steps to implement ceasefire in Syria, but it has a right of veto as a reaction to any violation committed by the terrorists, Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Jaafari, who leads the Damascus delegation in Astana, said Thursday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — The statement comes amid a Syrian ceasefire that came into force on December 30 is backed by Russia and Turkey, and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.

"Syria vows to take all measures to implement ceasefire in order to end the bloodshed in Syria, but my country has at the same time a right of veto as reaction to any violation of these measures by the terrorist armed groups," Jaafari said.

The second round of Astana talks is held in Kazakhstan's capital on February 15-16. On Wednesday, Russian, Iranian, Jordanian and Syrian delegations held a number of technical meetings.

The first round of Astana talks on Syrian crisis settlement brought together the representatives of the Syrian government and the armed opposition groups for the first time in the six years of the Syrian war. As a result of the talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to establish a trilateral mechanism to monitor the ceasefire that came into effect on December 30, 2016.